A Game Of Lost And Found
by daisukiteddy
Summary: Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Sai came back into Hikaru's life. But life for Hikaru is never easy. Especially when a certain Korean Go genius had set his sights on him...
1. Chapter 1: Haunted

**Title :** A game of lost and found

**Warnings :**I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing. Hehe, but I'm evil enough to put in a few characters fighting over Hikaru. :D And plz review, whether to insult  me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary :** Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :) 

**----------------------------**

**Chapter 1: Haunted**

_Pa-chi_

_Pa-chi_

_Pa-chi_

The same sound has been vibrating throughout the room for the past two hours. Those who knew Shindou Hikaru well will know that this will continue or at least two more hours, if not more. After all, this is his life force, his goban with the stones, and the game of Go itself, they gave him a meaning in life. To live, to fight, to feel… and to remember. Although if anyone would see Shindou now, they would be shocked. For Shindou has tears running down his face. Greenish-grey eyes so full of suffering that one could not imagine a 16 year old kid would have.

_'Why? WHY??'_ Shindou asked himself, while recreating the game. The game where he had lost to Ko Yongha. _'How could I lose? Was I not strong enough? I thought I could win, but I lost… I could not defend you. I could not defend your memory… SAI!!!!'_ By this time, Shindou was no longer recreating the game. The disappearance of Sai still hurts, and Shusaku being put down by a Korean boy nonetheless really grated on Shindou's raw wounds. After all, Shusaku and Sai are one and the very same person.

Sai, his very own personal ghost, was his closest friend. One whom he had looks up to and needed in time of joy and sorrow. The one who had taught him the game of Go and encourage him to become better. For Sai had love the game more than his own life, which had lead him to drown himself 1000 years ago. Sai had resides in his mind when he came back to earth from a goban, therefore how could they not share everything together? But then, maybe this was not such a good thing after all, for it had made the youth too dependant and too close to the ghost. The disappearance of Sai more than a year ago still fresh in his mind, still giving deep pain, sorrow and regret.

Shindou sat beside his goban, finally giving into the urge to cry his heart out. Finally, all spent, he fell asleep on the floor, last thought on his mind, again was… _Sai, where did you go? Why did you leave me?_

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A youth can be seen sitting on his favorite sofa in his living room, staring into space in the middle of the night. A stylish living room that will be appreciated and admire by anyone who happens to be in the room. Walls were painted white with a very faint touch of soft blue. Furniture consists of a gloss black cabinet full with books and manuscripts, with one section consisting of CDs of various kind of music, another gloss black cabinet lining the width of a section of the wall, holding all the necessary electronics equipment one would expect to find in a house. Soft white sofas and an oval marble tea table completed the setting. But of course, this being the living room of one of the most recognize youth in the world of Go, it can only be a complete and suitable living room when there is a goban nearby. And of course, there is one sitting on the tea table, decorated with a recreated game.

_'Shindou… Hikaru'_ A small smile graces the proud face of the youth. A sudden laugh broke out his mouth, his shoulder length hair brushing gently across his face. _'You intrigued me so. I came to __Japan__ for the Hokuto Cup, thinking that Touya Akira, the Go prodigy, was my only worthy rival. Instead I found you. You who made me panicked where others will only kept me amused. And all because I put down Shusaku.'_ This time his eyes gleam with confusion, though still tinted with amusement. _'What is Shusaku to you I wonder? That you must defend him with such spirit and vigor. Well no matter, as I have got your attention, as you has gotten Suyon.'_ At this he frowned, wondering why he wants Shindou's attention. Then he shrugged, matters like this does not bother him.

"Ah… That game you had with Shindou again huh?" Suyon, who had just woken up from his sleep to get a glass of water, mentioned as he looks at the goban, jerking his friend out of his reverie. "You know Yongha, if I didn't know better, I would think you are obsessed with Shindou." Suyon mentioned casually, drinking his glass of water while seating himself opposite of Yongha.

"Obsessed…" whisper Yongha. _'Hmm… maybe I am obsessed with Shindou. His eyes which shows me fire and ice. Never had I seen someone who is so passionate and cold at the same time.'_

"Hello? HELLO!! Earth to Yongha!!" Suyon raising his voice trying to get his friend's attention, which of course earn him a glare. " Geez, what's the matter with you? Ever since we return from the Hokuto Cup three months ago you have been like this. Recreating this game only. Too bad it did not alter your performance, I would just love to have an upper hand on you." Suyon at this point can be seen rubbing his hands together gleefully, complementing on the thought of him beating Yongha in Go.

"You wish, my dear friend" came the sarcastic reply together with a smirk on Yongha's face. "Since you are up, how about a game?"

"Sure. Why not?" Suyon replied good-naturedly as they proceed to start the game with nigiri which earn Suyon black and Yongha white. Soon the game ended with Yongha as the winner as expected. Which had Suyon groaning in defeat and accusing Yongha of being heartless to his friend and housemate, in a pitiful attempted to make Yongha feel bad, which of course did not work. Yongha just smirked at Suyon telling him to pick up the stones while he, the victorious one, goes to bed.

As Yongha walks to his bedroom, his thoughts are again, filled with Shindou. _'In less a year I'll see you again. Will you still have the fire and ice in you? I just can't wait to see you again.'_ a small smile graces his lips _'Just as I believe you will be as impatient to see me again. By winning, I had made sure of it.'_

**_-owari-_**


	2. Chapter 2: Yume Ja Nai?

**Title :** A game of lost and found

**Warnings :**I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing. Hehe, but I'm evil enough to put in a few characters fighting over Hikaru. :D And plz review, whether to insult  me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary :** Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him. 

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :) 

**----------------------------------**

**Chapter 2: Yume Ja Nai…? **

A light breeze blew teasingly over to Hikaru, causing the young boy to shiver. Although his body acknowledged the chill, his mind doesn't as he had fallen into another restless but deep sleep and again, as it usually does, right beside the goban on the floor with the only game that could give Hikaru such negative effects. The one where he lost to Ko Yongha. Sparkling lights, combinations of white, purple and tinge of silver, suddenly filled the room before slowly fading away… to reveal a being dressed in clothings that would only seem ridiculous and bothersome in this era.

Sai slowly open his eyes. Hoping against hope and preparing for the worse as he finally able to focus and looked around. _'I'm back…'_ Sai thought in amazement, seeing the familiar room he had spent two years in, then in gladness as he realize he is back on earth. _'Hikaru…'_ Immediately Sai start looking around the familiar room for the boy who is the reason of his return, and found him on the floor, sleeping and shivering slightly.

"Hikaru…" whisper Sai softly. _'Hikaru is here… I'm back.'_ Sharp pang filled his heart, for when he saw Hikaru he realize just how much he had missed the boy.

"Hikaru." Sai called out a bit louder this time, impatient to be reunited with the boy. Hikaru just grunted and continue sleeping in an awkward position on the cold, hard floor.

"Ne, Hikaru, Hikaru… can you hear me? Hikaru…? BAKA NO HIKARU!!"

"…Huh? What?" Groggily Hikaru woke up, trying to sort out the noise he heard. A few seconds passed on before he realize that he knew that voice and the tone that was used to accompany the words, yes words as his half-dead brain finally deduced. "Sai…? Sai! Is that you? Where are you?" Hikaru sat up immediately, spinning around, trying to locate the source of the voice. He finally spotted Sai sitting beside him, surrounded by the moonlight shining in from the window, giving Sai an ethereal light. Sai gave him a smile, eyes full of love, happiness, contentment… and annoyance as it's still such a hard task to wake Hikaru, a.k.a the 'Sleeping Beauty', up. _'Some things never changed…'_

"Sai! You're here! I'm so glad to see you. Do you know how much I miss you? I'm so glad to be able to talk you again." Hikaru's face then grew sad, "But then, this is just another dream, isn't it Sai? One where I'll be able to talk to you and then I'll still be alone again when morning comes. I… Why… Why have you to go? Am I not good enough? Why… in dreams… why do I still feel the pain of your departure?" Hikaru finally stop talking, hand placed where his heart is, eyes asking Sai for answers, half expecting Sai not to answer, but smile his wonderful smile at him like he usually does when they meet in dreams. Events of the Hokuto Cup is still too raw for Hikaru, bringing up the pain and sadness Hikaru felt at the lost of his best friend again.

"Hikaru… This is not a dream. It's real and I'm here. Look around you, everything is solid and we are in your room."

Shocked filled Hikaru upon hearing those words and he looked around as the ghost instructed and his eyes widen in confirmation to what Sai had said. Hikaru even pinched himself hard to double-check, not bothering about bruises. Turning back to the ghost, confusion in his eyes, " What do this mean? Why are you here…? It's not that I do not want you here… but I thought… Wait… Are you… I mean… Have you come back? To stay… or… to say… good… bye?" Hikaru, fearing the worse, look down on the floor, suddenly finding it so interesting.

"Hikaru…  Hai, I've come back. And to stay, forever by your side. I miss you too. I have been given a second chance to be with you again, Hikaru. Kami-sama took pity on both of our sadness and despair of being torn apart. He said that we had forged a very strong bond with each other and He realize that our separation is slowly tearing us inside out, a youma and a ningen, two totally different kind of being, who was brought together by a goban and forged an unbreakable bond through the love of Go. But He did warn me not to take over your life. He mentions something about me being a youma and you a ningen with a whole life in front of you and I must not take over your life like I did to Torajiro." Sai, who started his small speech like a wise being of importance, but of course reciting the exact words he received from Kami-sama, now looked very sheepish, one hand behind his head.

"You are staying? Honto? Yokata ne…" Relief and happiness pass through Hikaru's body, making him weak with emotion. "Sai, I don't care about anything else as long as you're back with me. You can play as many games as you want this time through me or internet or whatever. Anything as long as you won't leave me. I rather not lose you again. You're just too important to me."

"Thank you Hikaru, but I am grateful enough that I'll be by your side again. I do not want to jeopardize it by taking over your life and Go. I do not want Kami-sama to command me to come back and leave you again." A pause, but Hikaru, knowing Sai too well, hid a grin and waited, counting the seconds… "But I wouldn't mind playing Go again!! Especially against Touya Koyo and you!!" said Sai in a genki voice with his pleased childish look again. Which prompt Sai to continue his tirade on what, or rather who he wants to see and the games he wants to play, on the people Hikaru used to know, how is Touya Akira and Akari, how is Waya and the rest of his Go gang, has Isumi become a pro as well, has anything changed since he been gone, even on umbrellas as he still could not get over how ningens these days can fly to the moon and umbrellas are still umbrellas.

Hikaru just starred at Sai while he rambles on, out of the sudden feeling nostalgic. How he had missed that constant droning, whining and even the shouting of the ghost. One by one, without warning, tears began to flow. Tears of so many chocked up emotions that Hikaru had never been able to express, never been able to let go. Slowly Sai trailed off, wondering about the length of silence, and was shocked to see the tearful Hikaru. Suddenly, without warning, Hikaru launched himself into Sai's arms, sobbing. Sai, understanding the sudden gesture although still faintly shocked n surprise, just smile his melancholy smile and hug Hikaru, telling him that everything is going to be fine from now on. Finally the two friends are together again, their lonely heart healed by the fact that they are together again. Finally, both boy and ghost feel complete again. Sai just let Hikaru cry in his arms, his face a calm serenity, for he too knew he is finally back where he really belong.

"Hikaru, you really had suffer haven't you?" whisper Sai silently, cradling the youth gently, letting the boy cry himself to sleep again for the second time that night. But this time it is the tears of happiness.

Soon Hikaru fell into a deep slumber in Sai's arms. Sai was content to let him do so and look around the familiar room, noticing that nothing had change since he had left. As he look, memories of all the time he had spent with Hikaru in this room came up, reminding how much he had lost when he disappear that time. As memories after memories swamp him, a whisper of a smile came to his lips. The arguments, the games, the fight and so on. Soon Sai has his eyes closed, just to indulge into those fond memories and marvel at how much Hikaru has grown. When he finally opens his eyes, his sight fell on the goban with the stones still in position, where he had first found Hikaru sleeping beside. As he studied the shape of the stones, his beautiful purple eyes widen.

_'That is a very good game. I wonder if Hikaru played it. If the game is truly Hikaru's, then he has grown, both in maturity and Go. I wonder who is the opponent…' _As Sai studied the game closer, he noticed that black has a lot of moves that resembles his moves. _'Ah… I believe Hikaru did play this game after all. Who else knew my moves so well.'_ A feeling of gladness well up in his being, for the game had show Sai that Hikaru has never forgotten him at all, in his mind or Go.

_'But why would Hikaru be crying over this game? If it is over one of our game I can understand. But this game… what significant does it hold for Hikaru.Did he played this game against Touya Akira? But then, losing to Touya-kun would only make Hikaru more determine to surpass himself…either that or hopping mad. So it must have not been Touya-kun.'_

Sai looked at the boy sleeping peacefully in his arms. Looking closer, Sai can see that Hikaru indeed have grown, too fast that is. Sai, being around for over a thousand years, could see that Hikaru had been living an adult life in a child's body, for he has the look of maturity and a certain understanding of life that a youth of 15 years should not. Sorrow filled Sai's heart, as he realized that part of Hikaru's suffering was due to him.

_'Hikaru…you have suffered too much alone. And I even add more burden into you by going. I know that no matter what I do i'll never be able to make up to you, but… right now I'm back, and for good this time, and I'll never leave again. I never let you suffer alone again. From today onwards, I shall share your suffering. I'll never leave you alone again.  Kitto…'_

**_-owari-_**

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Yay!!!! Sai's back. I just love him! Which is the reason why I just have to bring him back. Besides… I think Hikaru is just too sad and lonely without Sai. And thanks for all the reviews and encouragement!! But do you think this is a boring chapter? Please tell…  as for my title, 'yume ja nai' means not a dream. I have finally gotten used to using fanfiction!!

Yo, Mikaii! A Hikaru and Yongha pairing…? I dunno yet, but it does sound interesting… Hehehe. I might, thanks to you. :D


	3. Chapter 3: Lost Times

**Title :** A game of lost and found

**Warnings : **I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary :** Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :) 

---------------------------------

**Chapter 3: Lost times**

The sharp call of birds woke Hikaru up from his sleep. His first peaceful sleep in a long time. As he lay wondering what could have given him such peace when the memories from last night came back in a rush. He immediately sat up straight, succeeding with flying colours in unbalancing himself and then proceeds with him falling down on his butt, hard.

_'Ite…'_

"Hikaru!! Are you all right?"

Hikaru froze, not daring to believe, heart and time suddenly seem to be at a standstill as he slowly turns around. Sai was starring at him worriedly, for the sudden movement of Hikaru, not to mention his spectacular fall, had surprise the gentle ghost. Hikaru just starred at the ghost, his mind blank, then he realized his 'dream' was real after all.

"SAI!" shouted Hikaru happily "It is you! It was not a dream after all. You are back! You really are back…" said Hikaru happily, his voice trailing as he starred at Sai, his expressive eyes full with emotions, "Yokata…"

"Hai. I'm back Hikaru," confirmed the ghost, knowing Hikaru still haven't got over his happiness, just he was when he realized he was coming back. Hikaru just slumped in happiness, closing his eyes and the two old friends was content enough just to sit side by side greeting the new day.

"Hikaru," curiosity finally getting better of Sai, after all he did have the whole night to brood about it. "Who did you play this game with?" Sai asked, pointing at the goban in front of them.

Hikaru knew what game Sai was asking about, for he recalled that he had not cleared the board yesterday night after finish recreating the game. His eyes remaining closed as he waited for the same anger and sorrow to come, flowing through his veins like raging fire, and was caught faintly surprise for there was none. For he no longer felt the intensity of the past feelings when it comes to that game, instead he felt a new rush of determination and slight anger. He smiles slightly, understanding that now he had Sai back together with him, the game no longer holds such importance.

"That was the game I played against Ko Yongha, a Korean pro Go player, in the Hokuto Cup. I've lost by half moku." Explain Hikaru.

"Ko Yongha? Hokuto Cup? Korean?"

"Oh yes, I forgot you wasn't here. Hokuto Cup is a new Go tournament where pros under 18 years old from China, Japan and Korea fight against each other in a group tournament to gain victory for their respective country. Korea won."

"You played against other countries?! Wow… I didn't know that you can play against other countries… oh!! You went to another country?? Wah!! I wasn't around!!! Did you sit on that big bird thing? What is it called again? Hikaru!! I wanna sit on that bird…!"

"An airplane, Sai, airplane. Besides, China and Korean players came over. The tournament was held in Japan. These days the world is connected, playing against other countries is just a matter of time for us new pros."

"I see… and you were upset because Japan lost?"

Hikaru's eyelids snapped open, showing fiery green eyes, which intensity almost frighten the gentle ghost as he had never seen Hikaru like this.

"NO! I was upset because I lost to Ko Yongha by half a moku. Half a moku!! I wanted to crush him! That arrogant boy dare to insult you! And I've lost! I couldn't avenge you. I am too weak, but I'll get stronger. I'll never forgive him, I shall crush him come next year."

Sai sweatdrop, wondering whether he should reach out to Hikaru. Suddenly he is glad he is already dead, for the look in Hikaru's eyes can surely kill. Then what Hikaru had said hit him.

"He insulted me? How could he have know me to insult me?"

"Er… well, he insulted Shusaku, and I took it a bit too personally I suppose." Hikaru looked a bit awkward, looking down on the floor, missing the smile that came to Sai, "I will not tolerate people who dare to insult my best friend! Well, ar… the--" Hikaru looked at Sai then, wondering how to explain that he was trying to crush the person insulted a person who died hundreds of years ago and yet still sitting in front of him.

Sai was smiling, understanding in his gentle purple eyes. And Hikaru just gave a grin back, knowing that he do not have to explain as Sai understood after all, seeing that they were connected through the heart and mind. They are after a part of each other and of one.

"Hikaru!" Mrs. Shindou voice can be heard shouting from downstairs, "Stop your racket up there! Obviously you're more than awake. Are you attending school today or do you have a match?"

"No, I don't have a match today, I'm going to school. I'll be right down, okaasan!" answered Hikaru through the door. He then turned to Sai, grinning, "Come on Sai, lets go to school. You'll get to see Akari again. In fact, you'll be seeing Touya also. I'm meeting him in the afternoon at his father's salon to play Go. Maybe later we can take a walk around town or anywhere you wanna go."

Sai smiled and nodded as he watch Hikaru get ready for school. Words cannot be used to describe how it feel now to be back again with this loud-mouth, brash boy, his other-half. He remember Hikaru saying 'yokata' when he says he back for real and his smile grew wider, _'Yes, I'm glad to be back also.'_ He then stood up and followed Hikaru out of his room, all the while smiling happily.

_'Hai…honto ni yokata…'_

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The morning routine is a norm for the Go prodigy. He wakes up, clean himself up and then get dressed, play a game of Go with his father before eating breakfast and then go to school. But today, like so many other days since his father, Touya Koyo, announce his retirement, Akira did not have a game of Go before breakfast. His father has left a fortnight ago to Korea again, together with his mother. Instead, Akira made his own breakfast and then sat down to eat.

_'I'll be meeting Shindou at the salon today for another game. I wonder how he is now. Since the Hokuto Cup, he seems… different. Like he has withdrawn or something. Again I wonder, what, rather than who, is Shuusaku to him. After all he can't be related to him as the world of Go will surely know if it is so, damn I really hate the paparazzi. But, then again, he way he played, so much like Shuusaku, even more so lately. It's like as if Shindou is connected to Shuusaku and using moves that is both of the modern Shindou and the ancient Shuusaku, creating quite a powerful combination, although still unpolished. It's frustrating and confusing me.' _Akira sigh deeply, his breakfast long forgotten as he ponders on about his rival and friend._ 'Although we argue all the time, I can't help worrying about him. And still he won't tell me what is wrong.'_

Akira finally got up, no longer able to swallow another bite. Tossing his cold and unfinished breakfast into the bin, he washes the utensils he used and then leaves the house to school. He knew deep inside, that to him, Hikaru have ceased being just a rival. He had started to look at the boy as a friend. A true friend in every sense and not just in Go. But he couldn't help wondering if Hikaru felt the same for him, whether had Akira become a friend to him or still remain the rival and the goal that Hikaru must surpass.

_'Lately I feel that Shindou's goal has change. I know he is still reaching towards the Hand of God, like all the other pros… but somehow this is what I feel.'_

'Honk! Honk!'

"Akira-kun!"

Startled, Akira snapped out of his reverie and spotted the small car just right outside his gate. Inside, waving cheerfully at him was Ichikawa Harumi.

"Ichikawa-san! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I thought I'll give you a ride to school. After all with your parents not around, you do need someone to take care of you, ne? Besides, I need to go open up the salon later."

"Sou ka… Ano, Ichikawa-san, you do not have to go out of your way to help me. I'll just be fine on own. Even so, arigato gozaimasu for thinking about me."

Ichikawa Harumi blushed upon hearing those words and the sweet and gentle smile Akira gave her. Nervously, she just laugh it off and asked Akira to hop in, all the while thinking that the little boy she had once doted on had grown up to be a fine young man. Not only that he has become more good-looking and even more courteous and gentlemanly. One that has girls falling all over him. Even Ichikawa's heart went doki doki whenever Akira smiles towards her.

"So you'll be coming later to the salon as usual?"

"Aa… Shindou promised me a match today."

"Promised? I thought you and him had an unspoken pact to play at least few times a week? It's funny to hear you use the word promise when there's a game of Go between you and him is concerned."

"… True." Again, Akira is plague by the eccentric Go genius. They do have a standing pact of playing games every once a while… well, accurately, every once in two or three days. But lately…

"Ah! Come to think of it, Shindou-kun haven't been to the salon for a long time. In fact I think it was almost a week ago since I last saw him."

Startled again by Ichikawa-san, Akira only bows down his head, silently agreeing with her. Since they had started playing together in the Salon, Shindou had never missed a game with him for more than three days. He couldn't help fearing that the same thing was happening to Shindou again, the time when he stop Go for almost half a year with no explanations or such. Then he thought he had lost his rival when it hasn't even started. Now, if the same case would happen again, he would not only lose a rival, he would lose someone very dear to him. Suddenly it become very clear to this Go prodigy that Go is, after all, not everything in life. It had taken a boy with blond bangs to make him realize that.

_'When did Shindou taught me that? During one of our games? Or during all those times we spent together?'_

"Ne, Akira-kun. You're not listening to a single word I say. Well, anyway we have reach Kaio already."

For the third time that morning, Akira was startled, and by the same person to boot. Feeling embarrassed and slightly guilty, Akira stammers out an apology and quickly thanks Ichikawa-san again for the ride. As he got out of the car, he felt even more guilty as he realize that he's glad to leave the car.

"Thanks again, Ichikawa-san. Ja, matte ne."

"Ja, Akira-kun." But instead of a genki smile that always accompanies Ichikawa's lips, it a smile of understanding that was facing Akira. Akira, fascinated by the rare smile, stare at her.

"Akira-kun, don't think too much, okay? I'm sure everything will be alright. Just give Shindou-kun some time to straighten out his stuff. I'm sure we'll see the old Shindou-kun soon."

Surprise showing in every line of his face, Akira only stare at Ichikawa as she gave him a wink before driving off. Then a smile slowly appear on his face.

_'Just like Ichikawa-san to see through me. Maybe she's right, I am thinking too much. Shindou will come back soon, he always does, doesn't he?'_

With that thought, he finally put down his dilemma and went into school. But then, somehow he can't put down this feeling that some things big are going to happen, which will change everything familiar to him. Why he had such feelings he could not guess, but somehow, he knows it is true. And it gave him a foreboding feeling throughout the whole day.

_-owari-_

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yup yup!! Chapter 3 up! I finally added Akira into the story!! After all, a HnG fic without Akira seems odd… And of course, Sai as well. Btw, if any of you happen to read until here, thank you for reading my story!! Hehe…


	4. Chapter 4: Double homecoming

**Title :** A game of lost and found

**Warnings : **I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary :** Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :) 

**p/s****:** Someone brought to my attention that Hikaru finished his junior schooling days already, therefore I have changed the fic to Hikaru attending senior high. Thousand apologies for forgetting that fact. Sorry!

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**Chapter 3: Double Homecoming**

Akira slowly walks up the stairs leading to his father's salon. School had actually ended for hours, but he had delayed coming to the salon early.  True that this week is his turn to clean the classroom, but after that he willingly spent his time in the library, revising his studies and after all that, reads whatever books he managed to lay his hands on. By the time he decided to come to the salon, it was already evening and still he took his time coming here. He had not wanted to come to the salon, waiting for Hikaru for a few hours and then be disappointed if Hikaru did not turn up in the end. After all, he had evoked a promise from Hikaru to meet at the salon today.

_'Evoke my foot, you practically force him to come.'_

Akira sighs, knowing that his mind is right in berating him. He had, in his high-handed way, went to Hikaru's senior high school last week to find him, thanking Akari who helped out in pointing out his location again, and then proceeds to a short shouting match before he told… or rather, demanded that Hikaru come to the salon today. It seems that when it comes to Go and Hikaru, he is inexcusably passionate. Obviously then, Hikaru was angry and extremely pissed off at Akira, and those who are sane will stay far away from the danger zone that is Hikaru. But then again, none of Hikaru's friends seems to heed his hot-temper ness. And Akira is counted as one of those people. Akira frowned, remembering that even as Hikaru seems angry at that time, his eyes seem to tell a different story. In his eyes, there is pain and a deep sorrow. The normal fire in HIkaru's eyes seems to have died down to a small flicker of light. That was what that had prompt Akira's concern to emerge.

_'And so that is why you forced him to come. The only way you know best is play Go. Maybe his pain and torture comes from Go, and you worsen it by forcing him to come… and you wanted to be his friend. Well, some friend you are.'_

_'Shut up already! I must be losing my mind if it can talks to me like this…'_

At long last, Akira finally reaches the doors to the salon. He took a deep breath to steady himself, glad his little argument with his mind had stopped. He clenched his jaw in anticipation of no Hikaru and then step up to let the automatic door opens.

"Konbanwa, Akira-kun. You're pretty late today."

Ichikawa, who was at her counter as usual, leans across the counter and smiles at Akira.

"Aa… Hai. I had something to do today, so--"

"TOUYA!!! YOU'RE LATE!!"

At the loud shout, Akira turns to face his accuser. Surprise was etched into every features of his face. He had after all, pretty much concluded that Hikaru wasn't going to turn up. Especially since Akira did pissed him off… not to mention walked out on him so that Hikaru would have no chance to decline him. At the corner of his eye, he swears he could see Ichikawa-san tried to smother her snicker before rolling her eyes heavenwards.

Hikaru was sitting at one of the tables facing a goban already filled with stones. Annoyance was in his every one of his features as he glares at Akira.

"What? What is that look for? You asked me to come did you not? So here I am… and you have to be LATE! Kuso… Imagine, the perfect and punctual Touya Akira is LATE!"

Akira, upon hearing those words, flared up. He dumps his bag on the counter before stomping towards Hikaru.

"How could I be late?! We did not agree on a time!"

"Well, obviously! WHO walks off right after ORDERING me to come here today?"

"I did NOT ordered!! I ASKED!!"

"OH!! If that is ASKING, then the earth must be square!"

"I ASKED!! And I am NOT late! I am never late!"

"We had always met AN HOUR after school on weekdays! Look at the time! I've been here for almost two hours already! TWO HOURS!!"

"So?! You had made ME waited for longer than that before!"

"I did not!!"

"Yes, you did!!"

"Did not, I tell you… DID NOT!!"

"DID TOO!!"

At the counter, Ichikawa shook her head and closed up her ears as the argument continues on. The regular customers, who had moved a distance away from Hikaru when he first shouted at Akira, were ignoring the rising decibels like professionals. After all, this is a normal occurrence in the salon when it comes to the two young Go players. Those new customers were starring at the two bickering teenagers with a mixture of disbelief and fascination. Shindou Hikaru and Touya Akira are famous in their own rights in the Go world. Both are well known for their individual strength and prowess in Go and for their calm and stoic face when playing Go. But watching them now shouting at each other like there is no tomorrow, all the calmness and stoic ness not in appearance, and in a Go salon nonetheless was truly an eye opener.

Sai was sweat-dropping right besides Hikaru, amusement in his face as he watches the shouting match going on. He had assume that Hikaru and Akira gets along well as they both loves Go and had finally acknowledged each other to the point that they play each other every once in a while… but he had not been prepared to see the two of them arguing like… well, old friends. Of all things Hikaru had up-dated him about since this morning, this was definately not one of them.

_'Things have definitely changed a lot since I've been gone… Kawaii!!! The two of them looks so kawaii together!'_

After a full ten minutes of blowing up the salon, Sai finally decided he had enough. The two Go prodigies are now locked in a starring match.

"Hikaru… ne, Hikaru. Stop arguing with Touya-kun. Aren't you two going to play a game? I want to see how much Touya-kun have improved. Besides… the two of you are very noisy."

_'Well, it's his fault we started on this argument. Who asked him to be late!'_

"But you played with me for those two hours, surely there's nothing to get mad at Touya-kun since you are definitely not left alone. Even if you are, you can always rebuilt games or study kifus. You shouldn't put all the blame on Touya-kun."

_'Sai!__ Who's side are you on? Traitor…'_

"Waaahhhhh!!! Hikaruuuu!!! Hidoi!! HIDOIIIII!!!!"

_'Wah!!__ Gomen! Gomen!! Please stop crying!! I did not mean what I had said…'_

Hikaru now have to pacify a crying Sai who was clinging to his leg. Akira was surprise when Hikaru broke off their starring match with a panic look and even more so when Hikaru looks distracted and was acting funny.

"Shindou… daijoubu desu ka?"

"Aa..? Hai, hai. Daijoubu. Gomen, there was something _on_ my pants just now."

At this, Hikaru seems to turn to looks at his pants, but in reality, he was glaring at the ghost who was still clinging and crying on his pants. Akira, although still doubtful of it, accepted the explanation gracefully. He then smiles at Hikaru, all past disagreement forgotten.

"Yosh. Shall we play a game now?"

At the word 'game', Sai immediately perk up and glomps Hikaru by the neck.

"A game! A game!! Hikaruu!! I wanna playyy!!"

_'Alright!__ Just stop trying to strangle me!!'_

"Ah!! Hikaru! Gomen ne…"

"Shindou! Are you sure you're alright?"

The alarm features of Akira was facing Hikaru, who was rubbing his neck gingerly and coughing slightly. Hikaru was faintly surprise at the concern he can see in Akira's face. As he caught himself starring and wondering, he smiled crookedly at Akira.

"Daijoubu. Don't worry…"

_'I just happen to have a hyperactive ghost back with me now… whose favourite activity now happens to be 'lets try and cause harm to Hikaru'.'_

"Ne, Hikaru… gomen." Sai was feeling very guilty right now. Being gone from Hikaru… and Go… for so long had taken a toll on the ghost. The whole day he had been either strangling Hikaru or glomping him by just getting over excited. Just like it was when he first appeared from the goban and met Hikaru for the first time.

_'It's alright Sai. You are always like this… besides I would never want to have you any other way. Come, lets start your game with Touya now.'_

"Get ready to be crushed Touya! Today I'm (_'Sai, actually…'_) gonna win!"

"We'll see about that Shindou." Touya smirked. "Nigiri."

"Hikaru, you sure it'll be alright for me to play? I mean surely Touya-kun is going to notice something."

_'Don't worry. Just remember to hold back some of your strength. You played me earlier, so you should know my strength… in other words, do not crush Touya like how you ALWAYS did to me.'_

"… Gomen…"

The nigiri ended with Shindou having the black stones. And thus the game started between the infamous Go prodigy, Touya Akira and the ghost of Go, Sai. As usual, Sai took out his fan and spread it out and smile in anticipation behind it. He finally get to have another game with the boy who had caught both Sai's and Hikaru's attention though the former earlier than the latter. As the game proceeds on, Sai's smile gets more serene.

_'Touya-kun has improved a lot as well, as does Hikaru. But if I were to be judge, I would say Hikaru improved a lot more and much faster than Touya-kun. In fact, if I wasn't Hikaru's ghost and was with him constantly for 24/7, I would not believe that he started playing only at 12 years old and had hated Go then. Now, he's 16 years old and one of the top under 18 pros. I am so proud… especially since Hikaru can be considered as my student.'_

The game soon comes to an end with Hikaru and Sai being the victor. Hikaru had expected Sai to win, and even though it is not his game and win, he could not help gloating about it to Akira.

"Yosh! I told you I will win, did I not?" Hikaru was smirking across the goban to Akira.

Akira just smirked back, "Well, do not expect a repeat performance. The next game is mine! Besides, you only won by two moku. Not that big a deal."

"A win is a win. So there!"

"Say what you want." Akira was starring at the goban and the game they just played.

_'I wonder what it is that is plaguing me. Somehow this game seems different. I mean there are the distinct moves of Shuusaku that Hikaru seems to use often and the same style of Hikaru's… but it is still different. Like Hikaru is playing as a different person today. In fact I am sure I had played such game before… Different Hikaru? The game… Masaka…?!'_

Akira's head immediately snapped up and gave Hikaru a piercing look. Hikaru was then having a conversation with Sai when Sai directed Hikaru to Akira's piercing gaze. The second Hikaru caught sight of Akira, he freeze up and start to sweat-drop, with a oh-great-what-did-I-do-wrong-now look on his face. Akira has his own suspicions regarding Hikaru and his connection with the infamous Sai. In fact, Hikaru had more or less admitted his connection with Sai, when he promised Akira that he'll tell him about it one day during the break of their first professional game. Well, the 'one day' seems long in coming, but now, somehow, the game reminds Akira of Sai.

"Shindou…" Akira, trailed off, not knowing how to phrase his question.

"Er… Yes, Touya? Is something wrong…?"

"…Iie, betsuni… By the way Shindou, your games are starting to become more and more Shuusaku-like…"

_'And Sai-like as well.'_ added Akira silently in his mind, hoping to prompt the dense boy into talking about the connection unsuspectingly.

"Sou ka…? Iie, I'm glad. Touya! Let play another game!" Shindou, as dense as ever, did not realize that Touya was asking about the 'one day' promise discreetly. He is just happy that Sai is happy as Touya just reminded Sai of his old friend, Torajiro. Hikaru knew now that neither he nor Shuusaku is better. Both are different in their own ways and he is no longer jealous of Torajiro because of Sai. It is because he now knew that he, Shindou Hikaru, is important to Fujuwara Sai as well. Besides… he had totally forgotten about his promise of 'one day' to Akira.

"…Aa?" Akira, who was hoping for an answer of some sort, was caught surprise at the request for another game. Inwardly cursing Hikaru as a baka and a dense idiot, he nodded his head in agreement for another game. Suddenly he realizes what was missing with the whole picture. Hikaru is longer the same person he saw a week ago. The Hikaru in front of him is the same Hikaru who is passionate about Go like him and there were no traces of the pain and sorrow he saw a week ago.

_'The old Hikaru is back… I wonder what had happened to change him back. Well, no matter, it's not like Hikaru ever going to open his mouth on it. But I am glad he is back. Maybe that is why the game seems different. It might be a game for Hikaru announcing that he is back. Yokata.'_

Akira smiled, and then started his 'second' game with Hikaru, vowing to be the victor this round. Akira could not have known that he was so near and yet so far from the truth, for the game was a homecoming game, but it was not Hikaru's. Rather, it was Sai's homecoming game.

"Ano… Touya. What is Touya-sensei doing now?" Hikaru suddenly asked Touya in the middle of their game, thinking of Sai as he knew that Sai wanted a rematch with Touya Koya without even needing Sai to ask. And he believe that Touya Koya wanted the same thing as well.

"Otou-san? He is in Korea now, but I believe he is coming home either today or tomorrow. That was what he had said when I talk to him last. Why?"

"Iie, betsuni. I was just wondering… say Touya, does your father still play internet Go?"

"I'm not sure. I do not think so. He is too busy playing other countries professionals to play internet Go I think. Ever since the internet Sai disappeared, otou-san no longer play net Go."

"Sou… sou ka?"

"…Baka!! What type of move is that? How could you have used such move to counter my attack?!"

"Ee…? What is wrong with that move? It is perfect!"

"What??!! Could you have not foreseen that in about three moves, I'll crush your defense there!"

"Obviously I did! I was aiming for another goal!"

"And you just gave up your section there? Is your head really filled with air or are you just plain stupid?!"

And so the fight goes on for another ten minutes before it finally stops, again with both of them glaring at each other above the goban. Ichikawa and Sai sighs, somehow knowing that this will be another long and noisy day at the salon. Ichikawa looks up towards the ceiling, praying that those eruptions will not one day ended with a hole up there. Then Ichikawa sneaks another look towards the pair. It has seems that they finally got back into playing again. Secretly, Ichikawa took out a piece of paper and added another tick to it.

_'Their record of having the most eruptions before Shindou-kun walks out is 15 times. I wonder when they're going to break it…'_

"I HAVE ENOUGH! I'M LEAVING!!"

With that well-used phrase, Hikaru stomped towards the exit where Ichikawa already had his bag ready on the counter. He picks up his bag, grunted his farewell to Ichikawa and then stomped out, leaving an extremely dumb-founded Sai behind, who immediately ran after Hikaru when he can no longer see Hikaru. Akira just calmly picked up the stones they had used and placed them back into their respective containers before walking towards Ichikawa to retrieve his bag and go home as well.

"Going home already?" asked Ichikawa, taking out Akira's bag.

"Hai. It's getting late. Besides, otou-san and okaa-san is coming home soon. I must get the house ready."

Akira smiles at Ichikawa and then took his bag. "Saa, I take my leave now. Sayonara, Ichikawa-san."

"Sayonara, Akira-kun." Ichikawa waves Akira out of the salon, while secretly thinking, _'Nine times of eruptions this round…'_

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_RRIINNGG!!! RRIINNG!!_

Akira looked up from his homework as the phone started shrilling. He got up gracefully and reached out to the phone.

"Moshi moshi. Touya desu."

_"Akira? It's okaa-san here."_

"Okaa-san! I'm glad to hear from you. Where are you and otou-san now?"

_"We have just reached __Tokyo__International__Airport__. We should reach home soon."_

"Honto? Great! I can't wait to see you and otou-san again. Is otou-san well?"

_"Your otou-san's health is fine. Akira, I called you to inform you that we'll be having two guests coming home with us and I would like you to prepare the guest room for them."_

"Wakata. Who are they by the way, okaa-san?"

_"Oh! That is himitsu, Akira! I'm sure you'll be surprise!"_

"Ara, okaa-san. I'm no longer a child. Well, no matter, I'm sure I'll know who he is when you all reach home. I just have to be patient. Go players have plenty of patience, do they not okaa-san?"

_"Mou… Akira-kun, you are no fun. Can't you at least indulge your okaa-san a bit? I haven't seen you in two weeks you know…"_

"Hai. Hai. I'll get everything ready by the time you reach home, okaa-san."

_"Arigatou,, Akira. I'll see you soon."_

"Hai… Sayonara."

_Click!_

Akira hangs up the phone with a smile. Ever since his otou-san announced his retirement and travel around the world bringing his okaa-san along, his okaa-san has been in a genki mode. It seems that his otou-san retirement really brings more benefits than what the rest of the world thinks so. At least more benefits to his family. He had never seen his okaa-san this happy for as long as he can remembered. Not only that, he had never seen his father this happy and relaxed also. Yes, the decision to retire was a good one.

_'Saa… lets go get the guest room ready. I wonder who these guests we'll be entertaining are…'_

_-owari-_

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Finally, another chapter up! I had an idea what the gist of my story for this chapter is… my only problem was how to play it out. But finally, here I am, although I not so sure I've done a very good job with it. So for those reading this, please tell me what you think about this chappie.

**Mnemea** – Thanx for informing me about the anonymous thingy. My only excuse was I did not know. So sorry.

For those who are waiting for my update, have fun reading!! I hope I did not disappoint you all. Thanx!


	5. Chapter 5: An Enigma

**Title :**A game of lost and found

**Warnings : **I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary :**Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer :**I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)****

**Foreword:** First of all… this fic is NOT beta. And I am NOT a native speaker of English. As someone already pointed out, I do have grammatical errors, horrible usage of verbs, yada, yada… in my fic. So if you were to read this and find my English a disaster, please do not say I did not warn you. As for getting it beta, I don't think so as I am only writing this for fun and to release some tension. To get it beta seems a bit too troublesome… and I had other commitments. Anyway, I'm still trying to improve my English… so for those still wanting to read my fic, thank you and please bear with me. Arigatou!!

**p/s****:** I reloaded this chapter with some explanations on the Japanese words (look below) I used for those who does not understand Japanese. Also because I earlier re-uploaded the wrong one =p!!! Sorry for my ignorance. It's just that most people around me are quite used to short Japanese phrases and we used it naturally. Sorry!! =p

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**Chapter 5: **An Enigma

_RIIINNGGG!!!_

The shrill ringing of the alarm can be heard throughout the whole room. A hand slowly reached up blindly before finally landing on the alarm's button, shutting the alarm off. Hikaru slowly pried open one of his eye glaring at the offensive alarm clock, before groaning and closing it again, quite deciding that it is definitely not the time for a normal person to be awake yet. Besides… he was having such a good dream….

"Hikaru? Ne, Hikaru. It's time to wake up if you want to go to school."

"…. Sai?"

Hikaru opened his eyes again, both of them this time, in bewilderment and focused towards the voice. Sai was sitting peacefully besides his bed giving him a small smile.

_'Oh yes… I forgot… Sai came back to me yesterday. He had been gone too long that I can't remember that he came back…although I spent whole day with him yesterday, it still felt like a dream…'_

"Hikaru… Daijoubu?"

"Aa… Genki, genki. Daijoubu."

"But you look sad and distracted just now. Not a usual expression for the Hikaru I know."

"Iie, betsuni. It's just that… you came back… after all those time… I guess I still could not believe it… no, not that, I guess you could say I still dare not believe it. But I suppose it's just stupid ne?"

"…….. Iie, Hikaru, it's not stupid. I believe it is called being human." Sai said quietly to Hikaru, giving him a soft smile. Hikaru slowly gave a smile back to Sai.

"Nn… Saa, I better get ready to go to school. I do not want to be late, even though I always seem to be late one way or another…" Hikaru trailed off, getting up from his bed to change and prepare for school.

"Ne Hikaru, why did you enter senior high? I remembered you adamantly said that you did not want to continue your studies after junior high if you made it as a professional Go player. At least that was what you told Waya."

"I'm not too sure myself. I suppose you could say I drifted around during the graduation ceremony from junior high. Sensei then stopped me while I was waiting for okaa-san and asked me what was my plans." A small sad smile appeared on Hikaru's lips.

"I guess I cause a lot of trouble and uproar when I was in junior high. That was right after you left. Sensei then was very worried for me and I, according to him, was stuck at the crossroad with no direction at all. He then gave me some extra tutoring and materials to study. Or maybe I should say, made me study. He counseled me a lot also, mostly trying to find out what was wrong. When he realized he could not find out anything, he instead started to get me interested in attending senior high and other professions besides Go…"

Hikaru's hand paused in his motions of halfway dressing, eyes showing that he was lost in past memories and thoughts. Sai was slowly digesting what Hikaru had said not to realize that the boy had stopped talking. When he finally realized the silence, he looked across the room to a brooding Hikaru. Sai was struck dumb by the look on Hikaru's face. Suddenly the young boy whom he been with for years seems so old, an air that was bittersweet and melancholy surrounding him. Disturbed by the air that was surrounding his young friend, Sai tried to get Hikaru's attention back to him. Hikaru looked startled for an instance before slipping his blazer on and buttoning it.

"… ah, gomen, I must have trailed off." Giving a sweet smile to Sai. "Anyway, during the graduation ceremony sensei told me that I passed the entrance exam quite well, surprisingly, and that I was accepted in Haze Senior High if I decided that I want to continue my studies after all. So here I am."

"Sou ka? Hikaru… what you said just now… what exactly happened after I left?"

"… Betsuni. It's not important."

"Demo… Demo, Hikaru!! I want to know! Tell me!"

Suddenly, Mrs. Shindou's voice was heard shouting from the stairs. "Hikaru! For once can't you get downstairs before I need to shout for you? As usual you're going to be late! You're going to make Akari wait for you again!"

"AH! Come one, Sai! We're going to be late. One screaming female is more than enough, I do not need Akari screaming at me as well."

"Aa... Hai!"

Immediately forgetting the conversation they were having earlier, Sai rushed out of the room after Hikaru. Inside, Hikaru was glad for his okaa-san's intrusion. Sai knew about him suffering after he left, but what he did not know was that Hikaru had stopped playing Go completely and did not even go for any of his pro's games for half a year, almost to the point of quitting. Somehow he had thought that if he stopped playing, maybe Sai would come back. After that it was guilt that was holding him from playing again, believing that he was betraying Sai just by playing. Looking back now, it had seemed so pathetic and self-destructive. Even if it was all over and in the past now, he still did not want Sai to know about it.

_'Gomen Sai. It's not like I want to keep it as a secret from you, but having you back now paid for all the sufferings back then. There is no point bringing it back up. It'll only make you unhappy ne? I can see all the regrets and sorrows in you when you realized what I had been through since you were gone. I do not want to add another cause to your regrets.'_

Hikaru quickly gulped down a glass of milk and grabbed a piece of toast running towards the front door.

"Okaa-san! Thanks for the breakfast. I'll take my leave now. Itte rasshai!"

"Itte mairimasu."

Mrs. Shindou smiled as she watched her son quickly slipped on his shoes and ran out of the door. That son of hers grew up pretty fast since picking up Go. He was still the same brash, impatient, naive and loud boy everyone had comes to love, but he had become more mature and polite. Her only regret was that he had grown up too fast for a sixteen year old boy. She shook her head, unable to comprehend the enigma that was her son. Every year he still manages to surprise her at every turn. Her biggest surprise this year should be the fact that her capricious son had decided to continues his studies and as a pro as well. Suddenly she frowned, thinking that there was something different about Hikaru… and pondered what was different about Hikaru as she picked up the plates and glasses and moved them to the sink. Comprehension slowly drawn into her eyes as she realized what was different. The air of deep sorrow and incompleteness that had accompanied Hikaru since almost a year ago was gone. She sighed happily, placing a hand over her heart, somewhat gladden at the small change. Silently she sent a prayer of thanks to Kami-sama, thanking him for whatever reason that had made that aura gone.

Outside, the sun seemed to shine brighter, as if in answer to the small prayer.

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Waya, Isumi, Nase and Honda were at McDonalds for lunch. They had agreed to meet up there at midday to have lunch before proceeding to Waya's apartment to have a group study. More of their friends were going to meet them up at Waya's apartment later for a group study.

"Waya… I don't understand why have to meet up for lunch since we are already going to meet up later today. And at McDonald again! Don't we already have enough of McDonalds, since we come here all the times after practices or games?" Honda was complaining good-heartedly.

"Yeah… you practically twisted our arm just to get us to agree… there must be something you want from us. All right now, spill!" Nase demanded, looking quite terrifying.

Waya sweat-dropped while Isumi, who was sitting beside him, smiled nervously as they looked across the table at Nase. Even Honda looked a bit scared when he saw the expression on Nase's face. Knowing her for so long still did not lessen any of the boys' fear for her when she is in one of her I-know-you're-hiding-something-and-I-demand-to know-it mood. They thanked their lucky stars that Nase was not a curious person by nature, and she only get into that particular mood whenever it directly involved her… like for instance, now.

"Heh heh… Nase, don't look at me like that… Kowaii!" Waya exclaimed suddenly, getting quite freaked out by the look Nase was pinning on him.

"Nani??! You said I'm scary? Mou… how could you… Hidoi!" Just as suddenly as she got the look, it is now replaced by one that was on the verge of tears.

"Wa! Gomen gomen, Nase. Yurushite! I did not mean it… Onegai?"

"…… Honto?"

"Honto honto!"

"Saa… then tell us why you dragged us all out here today." A sunny smile now graced Nase's lips, having extracted an apology from Waya.

"That was fast… girls…" Waya mumbled softly, and then spoke up louder. "Actually I was hoping all of you could help me with a little favor today."

"Favor? What favor?" asked Honda between bites of his burger, causing Nase to look a tad scandalous at Honda's lacked of table manners. Waya and Isumi pretended not to notice anything and continued eating. Waya swallowed another bite before answering, not wanting to be on the receiving end on another of Nase's look again.

"I need you guys to go shopping with me. I need to buy a birthday present for Shigeko-chan and I'm hopeless when it comes to things like that. Besides, I also need to stock up my food and house supplies…"

Isumi smiled slightly at Waya all the while thinking along the same lines as Honda who was complaining quite good-naturedly and fervently that Waya was just using them as servants or something like that. Nase on the other hand was looking quite thoughtful as she slowly bites into her fries. Mischievously, she looked at Waya.

"Ne, who is Shigeko-chan? Koibito?" That question definitely caught the other two boys' attention and they immediately turned to regard Waya with interested looks.

"Wh… What? No, no… don't think nonsense, Nase. She's Morishita-Sensei's daughter." Three pairs of very interested and disbelieving eyes was still facing him, making him more uncomfortable. "I treat her just like a little sister!!"

"Uh huh… whatever you say, Waya-kun." Nase replied with a big grin.

"It's true!!" Waya almost yelled out, causing patrons nearby to look over to their table.

"Yare yare… Nase, stop teasing Waya." Isumi, ever the peace-maker, decided to intervene before it got even bigger. Also because he did not want to attract so many attentions… not that Waya were not doing a good job at it already. Isumi cringed as he saw at all the curious faces facing their table. "Let's hurry up and eat so we can do Waya's shopping. We are all supposed to meet at your house at four p.m. right?"

"Aa… mostly at four, but some of them are coming in early." Waya replied slowly, grateful for the change of topic, though Nase was looking a bit disappointed but smug.

"Waya, why didn't you call Shindou along?" asked Honda, as if suddenly remembering the blond bangs boy. "I haven't seen him in ages. No, that's not right, I should say I haven't talk to him in ages. I just saw him early this week during the pro games, only he disappeared right after the game. I believe he totally crushed his opponent, seeing he left the room in about an hour. I pity his opponent, the poor guy was in such a shock that he was still sitting in the hallway dazed when I finished my game later on."

Isumi and Nase looked sympathetic while Waya was trying to hold in his snicker.

"Obviously, imagine being crushed by a first dan that had a reputation for not attending any of his pro games for half a year." Waya told Honda, a big grin still on his face.

"Ah… yes. I have forgotten about that. Anyway, back to my question, where's Shindou?"

"………. What? Did I say something weird?" Honda asked again, noticing that all three of his friends were giving him weird looks.

"Do you really don't know… or are you just pretending?" Asked Isumi finally, since Nase and Waya was still more inclined in shooting Honda looks of disbelieve.

"Don't know what? Hey hey, don't keep me in suspense… did something happened to Shindou again?"

Honda was looking quite worried now. Like most of Hikaru's friends, he was worried that Hikaru may lapse back into the state he was in about more than half a year ago. Hikaru had stopped playing Go then and did not attend any games with no explanations given. Not only that, Hikaru had run away whenever he had seen or bumped into one of them. It was like as if Hikaru was trying to cut himself off from anything and anyone who had connection with Go. Just as suddenly, Hikaru came back to the world of Go, more determined and much stronger. Most of them did not know that it was Isumi that had finally pushed Hikaru back into Go. Only Waya knew that Isumi had went to find Hikaru the day before Hikaru started attending his games again, but even Waya did not know what had actually happened between Isumi and Hikaru, since all Isumi was willing to tell him was that they played Go.

"Daijoubu, nothing so serious Honda. Relax." Isumi gave a sweet smile to Honda, realizing that his carelessly spoken words had cause a bit of harm. "Nothing happened to Shindou. It's just that he had decided to continue his studies into senior high after all."

"Sou… sou ka?" Relieved that Shindou was not going to relapse again, he finished his burger in one bite before speaking up again. "Ano, didn't Shindou said that he's not going to continue his studies so he could focus more to Go?"

"I have no idea. Every time I asked for an explanation, the baka just smiled at me and said that he changed his mind or because he wanted to. You can ask him later if you want to. He promised me to come today. In fact I'll help you ask, maybe with the two of us combining our forces, he'll give us the reason." Waya said in an irritated tone, attacking his fries quite savagely.

"Hoi hoi. Calm down Waya. Shindou has his right to keep quiet about his decisions, we can't force him to tell us. Even I am surprise about his decision, especially in the elective subjects he took in senior high."

"Are, you know what electives Shindou is taking?" Waya asked, surprised that Isumi knew. Then realized that he had never asked Shindou about that since he tended to focus more on the reason Shindou went back to studying.

"You never asked Shindou about that, Waya."

"Yeah… I just realized. So what electives are he taking in senior high? Must be something very easy, seeing he's such a lazy bum."

At his own comment, Waya snicker, then quickly chucked fries into his mouth in an effort to stop, hoping that Isumi would not frown at him. Looking around, he saw that his actions wasn't necessary as Nase, Honda and Isumi smiled good-naturedly, obviously in total agreement that Hikaru was a lazy bum.

"You are not going to believe this, but he took classical Japanese literature and ancient Japanese history as part of his electives. And if I remembered correctly, he even took up an extra elective which he needed to study on his own as his school was not offering that particular subject."

All of them looked dumb-founded as Isumi told them about Hikaru's choices in electives. For one, the boy they all knew was a very modern and up-to-date kind of person, proven by his bleached bangs. For another, Hikaru does not liked to think much when it does not involved Go. Hearing that Hikaru took literature, classical at that, and history was very… enlightening, to put it mildly.

"Ne what is the extra subject he took, Isumi-san?" Asked Nase.

"A language subject. Ancient Japanese language as a matter of fact. It seems that he wanted to learn that olden language in depth."

"…Eh??!! Are you sure about that? Normal people don't take that kind of subject!" Exclaimed Waya loudly. Honda was nodding quite fervently at Waya's comment.

"Hey… I don't think it is nice calling Shindou-kun abnormal…" Nase told Waya off softly, even though she quietly agreed with Waya's statement as Isumi shrugged.

"But, but… why on earth would anyone take those kind of subjects? I can't believe Shindou would just go back to studies with those kinds of subjects. Hell, I bet even Isumi would not!" Eyes glaring and finger pointing at Isumi, Waya was daring Isumi to deny his accessions. Isumi was holding both hands up as if to ward of Waya while laughing nervously.

"Waya… cool down. Here, have a drink." Isumi quickly passed Waya's coke to him and sighed in relief when Waya accepted it. "True, I definitely would not take those subjects… but that's because I have no interest in them at all. Shindou must have interests in it, otherwise he would not take up those subjects, right? Waya, respect his decisions."

"Demo…" Waya trailed off, unable to put up an argument, knowing full well that Isumi was right.

"Shindou-kun had always been different, ne? He had always seems so simple and naïve, but I think he is actually a very complex person. Even more so after he became a pro." Said Nase quietly, more to herself than to her companions.

The whole table fell silent after Nase's words, each thinking about Hikaru and the enigma that he was. Every one of them still did not know the cause of Hikaru's disappearance from the world of Go then and all the other events that leaded up to this day. The Hokuto Cup event was even more confusing. Suddenly Isumi spoke up.

"After the Hokuto Cup, Yang Hai-san met up with me. He told me something about Shindou. It seems that the Korean player, Ko Yongha asked him why he play Go." Startled by Isumi strange remark, all of them looked at him expectantly.

"Shindou had answered, 'To link the far past with the far future'."

The three listeners looked stunned, not knowing how or what to think with that strange remark.

"To link the far past…"

"With the far future…?"

"Aa… that was what Shindou said. Therefore I believe it can quite well explained Shindou's choices in those electives. Besides, I'm sure all of you all noticed that Shindou's Go had always been alike to Shuusaku's. Maybe Shindou is more into the past than we are."

"I suppose you are right… as usual. Isumi, you're too mature for your own good." Stated Waya, and finished his drink in one gulp.

"… I'm going to be twenty soon, you know…" Said Isumi in defense to Waya's statement.

"Ne Waya-kun. If we don't make a move now you won't be able to do your shopping." Nase was looking pointedly at her watch.

"Eh? Ah!! It's one o'clock already! Saeki said he is coming at three thirty. Let's hurry up!"

Soon the four friends were walking out of McDonalds, joking and teasing each other as they went off to help in Waya's shopping expedition.

-------------------------

On the other side of the town in Kaio Senior High, Touya Akira was sitting under a tree eating his bento. Now that his okaa-san is back, he has bento to bring to school for lunch. Truthfully, he had missed his okaa-san's cooking very much. As he ate, his mind slowly drifted back to yesterday.

_"Tadaima!"___

_"Okaerinasai, okaa-san, otou-san."_

_Hearing the shout from the front door, Akira answered habitually as he slowly got up and moved towards the hallway. Upon reaching the hallway, he nearly had a heart-attack as he saw who was standing behind his parents. _

_"Akira! It's so good to see you again." Akira's okaa-san exclaimed as she went forward to give her son a small hug. "These are the guest I had been talking about. Let me introduce you. Gentlemen, this is my son, Akira. Akira, these are Im Seon-keun and his kouhai, Ko Yongha. They are both pros in their country… matte, I believe you had met Yongha-san during one of your tournament right, Akira-kun?" A small nod from Akira, which caused his okaa-san to smile happily. "Then I believe you have no problem getting along then. They are here for some sight-seeing and relaxation. For how long they are not too sure themselves either."_

_All three of them bow to each other. Akira, being Akira, regained his composure immediately and welcomed his parents' guests warmly. After all, Akira was never one who would ever forget his manners._

_"Yoroshiku.__ Welcome to Japan. Please allow me to show you to your rooms so you could freshen up."_

_"Ah… yes. I'm sure both of you are tired after the long trip. Please follow my son. I'll be glad if you could join me for breakfast tomorrow." Touya Koyo smilingly told the two Korean pros._

_"Arigatou.__ Touya-sensei. True, we do need a rest after the long flight. Let me thank you again for inviting us and hopefully we would not out-stayed our welcome." Seon-keun replied. _

_As Akira waited to show the two guests to the guest room, he appraised Im Seon-kuen. Seon-kuen seems to be in his late twenties, with dark brown hair cut in a neat style. He was spotting a pair of small square frame glasses, which quite show off his friendly eyes. In fact, his actions and demeanors show a person who is totally at ease with himself and the world and extremely easy-going. _

'Which was totally at odd with Ko Yongha' _Akira thought as his eyes shifted to Yongha. Ko Yongha was standing beside his sempai, with a small smile that looked more like a smirk, as his sempai asked a few questions to Touya Koyo and his wife, every once in a while contributed a sentence or two in Korean to his sempai. Like it was during the Hokuto tournament, Yongha had an air of cockiness and self-assurance around him. As if realizing Akira's eyes on him, Yongha turned to face him, locking the younger boy in a staring match. After a while amusement entered his eyes and he smirked at Akira before turning back to his sempai._

_"Seon-kuen, give it a rest already. You can ask all your questions tomorrow. It's getting pretty late. Besides, I believe we are making Akira-san wait." Yongha gently rebuked his sempai, who looked embarrassed and smiled apologetically at Akira._

_"Gomen nasai, Akira-san.__ I guess I got carried away again, huh? Please lead the way." _

_"Iie, betsuni.__ Please follow me." _

_Akira waited for the two guests excused themselves from his parent before leading the way to the guest room. Although his expression did not change, he was quite surprised to hear Ko Yongha speaking in Japanese. He remembered that Yongha did not speak Japanese back then during the Hokuto tournament, even though he did seems to understand the language quite well. Although he did not want to, Akira was in awed of Yongha's ability to pick up the language so fast that he now spoke almost like a local. Soon they reached the room and Akira slide the door open, showing them in and told them the location of the bathroom. Seon-kuen thanked Akira profusely before entering the room cheerfully. Akira stared after the older man with fascination, unable to imagine that a man of that age was so… childlike, until he noticed that Yongha did not followed his sempai into the room. He turned to find the said boy regarding him silently._

_"It there something you need, Yongha-san?" Enquired Akira politely, although his eyes were silently challenging Yongha. Somehow Yongha seemed to grate on his nerves._

_"Iie.__ There's nothing I need." Yongha replied in a mocking tone. "But there is something I want to know."_

_Akira raised an eyebrow and waved his hand in a gesture to ask Yongha to continue._

_"How is Shindou Hikaru?"_

_Akira's whole body froze, as he stared at Yongha, wondering at the nature of the question. From the doorway they could hear Seon-kuen calling out cheerfully to Yongha that he was going to use the bathroom first. Akira's eyes slowly harden and turned icy as he glared at Yongha._

_"What do you want with him?"_

_"Heh… Quite protective of him, aren't you? Well, since there is no harm, I'll let you know. I want to meet him… and I believe you can help me in that."_

_Eyes narrowed, "What made you think I'll help you?"_

_Yongha chuckled slightly, "I have expected you to say that. Never mind, I have my own ways. Was just trying my luck with you. Saa… then, oyasumi, Akira-san." Yongha then walked in to the room and silently slide the door close without waiting for a reply from Akira. Just before the door was fully closed, Yongha turned and smirked at Akira, "By the way, please send my regards to Shindou Hikaru. I'm sure that you'll be able to do, ne?"_

By the time Akira finished replaying his memories, he had already finished his bento and was lying against the tree with his eyes closed. Frankly speaking, he was very worried about this turn of events. He knew that Hikaru had a grudge against Yongha ever since before the Hokuto tournament started, thanks to the incompetent reporter, Kosemura and Yongha bad-mouthing Shuusaku, but if yesterday were anything to go by, Hikaru seems to have recovered from it. Not that Hikaru were likely to ever forget about the insult, but at least Hikaru was back from being moody and depressed.

Akira sighed deeply. Everything always seems to come back to Shuusaku when it concerned Hikaru. And Sai too of course, but Sai is more intangible, seeing that he had no proof of any connection between Hikaru and Sai except some wild guesses… and maybe his otou-san. Shuusaku is more real, since Hikaru often used his moves, although Hikaru had modernized it, it is still very unmistakably Shuusaku's. Akira also remembered that Kurata 6-dan had even said that Hikaru was a Shuusaku's calligraphy expert. Shindou Hikaru is one Go player that was fully entrenched in the path of Shuusaku.

Although Hikaru is still quite far from being on par with the legendary Go player, he was slowly getting there. Every time there is an obstacle, Hikaru managed to improve and get stronger to overcome it. Each stumbling block only served to raise Hikaru's determination, competitiveness and strength. There is no telling the limit of Hikaru's Go. Thanks to Hikaru, Akira's Go had grown as well, but even Akira had to admit, Hikaru's growth is much faster than his. One day, Hikaru may even surpass him… but that is for the future.

Returning back to the present time, Akira gave another troubled sigh. Having Ko Yongha here right now doesn't seem to be good news. He might put Hikaru back into his depressed mood again. There was also the business of Yongha wanting to see him. Akira frowned, wondering why Yongha would want to see him. And making it sounded like it was his sole purpose for coming to Japan, instead of just plain sight-seeing and, although his okaa-san did not mention it out of courtesy, Akira knew it was also an excuse to meet some Japanese pros for games.

He had found out right after the Hokuto tournament that Ko Yongha had said those insults to rile Hikaru up and the earlier mix-up was due to a bad translator, thanks to Suyon. When Akira had explained that to Hikaru, with Suyon as a backup, Hikaru had patiently listened. It seems that Hikaru had believed them, but he had also said that he could not forgive Yongha for the insults, whether he had meant them or not. Even after all the begging and explanations, they were still back to square one, unable to get Hikaru to forgive Yongha… not that Yongha was asking for forgiveness then. In fact, Yongha couldn't have care less about the commotions he had cause in Japan and grudges he had made with Hikaru… so why the sudden interest in Hikaru?

And now his mind came back to Hikaru. Seems like he could never stop thinking about the boy, maybe it is because Hikaru is the only friend he had that was of the same age. It is nice to worry about someone else, since most people he knew are much older than him and are very capable of taking care of themselves and him. And worried he was, wondering about Hikaru's reactions once he knew that Yongha is in the country. He was also wondering whether to tell Hikaru that Yongha was here, in Japan, or not. He did not want to be the bringer of bad news to Hikaru, not to mention being in the risk of putting him back into his depressed mood. But on the other hand, he also did not want to betray Hikaru's trust by keeping such a secret, if it can be called a secret, from him. He knew Hikaru will never forgive him if he found out that Ko Yongha was in Japan and staying at his home and he had neglected to tell him about it.

Distantly he could hear the bell ringing, signaling the end of lunch break. He picked up his bento box and got up slowly, walking back to class.

_'Either way, this is going to be one messy event.'_

_-owari-_

_----------------------------_

Finally, a chapter up. Sorry for the late update, but I had a project (which kept back-firing at me and my teammates), an assignment (which I am sure that it is meant to either kill us or maim our brains) and two exams to deal with before I can come back to my fics. As I had mentioned earlier, someone just told me of my off timeline, so to fix it, I put Hikaru in senior high. So this chapter was mostly to explain in detail about it, though I think I had gotten a bit too long-winded about it… ;;

Anyway, for those who reviewed, thanks a lot. And again, especially to tati1 and Cyhirae, I would like to apologize for my disastrous use of the English language. I know my English is not good, so please bear with me. I would be honored if you were to continue to read my fic, but it does not matter to me whether you do or not. As I had said, all this is in fun to me. Sorry, but I had a weird sense of humor and my idea of fun is… different, according to my friends.

A few seems to want this fic to turn into a Yongha and Hikaru pairing. Seriously I do not know. I know that I am putting up a Yongha that is quite obsessed with Hikaru, but to pair them up… well… I really don't know. Please give me some suggestions.

Ja ne!

Explanations:

Daijoubu – are you all right? Also used to answer if you are fine.

Genki – literally means happy. Also used to assure someone you are fine.

Iie – no

Betsuni – it's nothing/it's all right

Saa – so/then/okay… somewhere along those lines

Sensei – teacher

Gomen – sorry

Sou ka / sou da ne – is that so

Demo – but

Itte rasshai and itte mairimasu – 'I'm going' and 'have a good day' =D literal translation. Hey! I'm lazy…

Kowaii – scary

Hidoi – cruel

Nani – what

Yurushite – forgive me

Onegai – please

Honto – really

Koibito – boyfriend or girlfriend

Yare yare – something like hey hey or the likes. Japs n chineses have plenty of those intonations.

Tadaima and okaeri(nasai) - 'I'm home' and 'welcome back'

Matte – wait

Yoroshiku – please to make your acquaintance

Oyasumi – good night


	6. Chapter 6: Tomodachi

**Title :**A game of lost and found

**Warnings :** I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing... though I did receive suggestions... I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary** :Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer :**I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

**Foreword:** First of all... this fic is NOT beta. And I am NOT a native speaker of English. As someone already pointed out, I do have grammatical errors, horrible usage of verbs, yada, yada... in my fic. So if you were to read this and find my English a disaster, please do not say I did not warn you. As for getting it beta, I don't think so as I am only writing this for fun and to release some tension. To get it beta seems a bit too troublesome... and I had other commitments. Anyway, I'm still trying to improve my English... so for those still wanting to read my fic, thank you and please bear with me. Arigatou!!

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**Chapter 6: **Tomodachi

Hikaru looked up from his book as he heard the final bell signaling the end of the day. The class stood up and bid the sensei farewell before individually packing up their stuff to go home. Hikaru too packed up his stuff and walked out of the classroom lazily, followed by Sai, who was skipping quite happily beside him.

'_Ne Sai, what are you so happy about?'_

"Hikaruu!! I had a great time in class just now. I'm so glad you have literature class now, compared to last time when I could only have fun in history."

Hikaru chuckled softly as he heard Sai's buoyant reply. He knew Sai would enjoy his classes, but he had never guessed that the gentle ghost would be so hyper about it.

"HIKARU!"

Startled, Hikaru stopped at his tracks and turned around, searching for the person who was shouting for him. He spotted Akari waving at him cheerfully while running forward. So Hikaru stood where he was waiting for Akari to catch up with him.

"Ne, Hikaru..." Akira paused to take a breath, pleased that she managed to catch up with Hikaru before he left the school compound. "Where are you going?"

"Huh?" Confusion etched every line of Hikaru's face, wondering why Akari was asking such a question. "I'm heading towards the library. I need to pick up a few books. Then I'm going to meet up with some friends to have a Go study group. Why?"

"Eh? Oh... I was hoping you were free. I joined the Go club, and I was hoping you could come over to give us some pointers." Akari was looking quite disappointed that she wasn't able to drag Hikaru to the Go Club to give pointers as well as a lost chance to show-off her best friend who was a Go pro.

"Hikaruu!! I wanna go!! Ne, Hikaru, lets go, lets go."

Hikaru gave Akari a smile as he inwardly chuckled at Sai's typical reaction. How he had miss the gentle yet hyper ghost.

"Gomen Akari, I am needed elsewhere today. Perhaps some other days?" Hikaru answered Akari softly, trying to cheer Akari up.

Sai, who was chanting 'Go' while waving his arms around, paused slightly as he heard Hikaru's reply to Akari. Then he started crying while clinging on Hikaru's pants again. A sweat-drop was quickly forming on Hikaru's head as he tried to sneak looks at Sai without having Akari noticing anything odd.

'_Come on Sai, we are going to meet Waya, Isumi and the others for Go as well. I did promise them after all.'_

"Eh... we are going to play Go after all?" Sai looked up from Hikaru's pants with a puppy eyes look.

'_Obviously, that IS the purpose of a Go study group, right?'_

That was enough to cheer Sai up, who had starting his chanting all over again. Meanwhile, Akari stood where she was not moving, all the while complementing Hikaru. When Hikaru had finally finished dealing with the ghost, he turned his attention fully to Akari, only to be disarmed by the indescribable look in her eyes.

"What is it, Akari? You... Is there something on me?" Hikaru looked about himself only to come in contact with the still dancing ghost, which placed him in slight panic that maybe Akari had noticed his slightly (at least he hope so) off behavior.

"Iie, it's not really that." Akari then gave Hikaru her best sunny smile. "It's just that you have really change, Hikaru. You are totally different from the Hikaru I've known since childhood."

Hikaru then gave a gentle smile, knowing the girl had just spoken out loud what he was sure everyone was thinking about. Even he realized how much he had changed. In fact, he realized he was now more polite and courteous, but at the same time could still be rude and annoying. _'Maybe some of Touya's mannerism had rubbed off on me, seeing that I spent so much time in his presence.'_

"Sou da ne... Tell me, Akari, which Hikaru do you prefer?" Suddenly curious, Hikaru asked Akari, surprising her.

"Eh?? Ano..." Akari trailed off, looking thoughtful before answering distantly, "I'm not sure. I like the Hikaru you are now, all polite and nice... a big change from the rude and loud baka I used to know."

Hikaru laughed softly, hearing the words Akari used to describe him, which earned him a smiling glance from Akari. Then Akari gaze turned serious as she continued speaking.

"But the Hikaru back then was much more cheerful and care-free. The Hikaru you are now seems so... well, there is the determination and strength in you which makes you admirable both in Go and, from what I have heard, in your studies as well, but you always seems so... distant, so burdened and melancholy... and it pains me so to see you like this." Akari said softly, looking deep into Hikaru's eyes with all the compassions and loves she felt for her best friend.

Hikaru's eyes widened slightly with shock and surprise before he smiled sadly but gently at Akari. He then slowly moved forward and enveloped Akari in a hug, not caring that they were in the middle of the school corridor. Sai, who was still in his own world of Go stones, was surprise to find Hikaru hugging Akari, but smiled understandingly. He knew that Akari and Hikaru had been friends for almost forever, but had slowly drifted apart when Hikaru decided to totally immerse himself in the world of Go. Maybe lately these two had become close again; after all it would be such a shame to lose a friendship as close and wonderful as theirs.

"Arigatou, Akari-chan. I'm sorry, for always making you worry. Thank you... thank you for always being there for me." Hikaru softly whispered into Akari's ear, closing his eyes as he took in the comfort of being in Akari's arms. Akari was hugging Hikaru back, burying her face in his shoulders, glad that Hikaru had allowed her into his soul, even just a little.

Akari shook her head softly and mumbled some thing intangible into Hikaru's blazer. Hikaru pulled back to look at her quizzingly, eyes silently begging her to repeat her words. Akari blushed delicately before smilingly repeated her words.

"That is what friends are for. And you'll forever be my best friend, Hikaru."

Hikaru smiled softly as he took in the sincerity of Akari's words. Then he gave Akari another hug before letting go, softly repeating Akari's words to her. As he was pulling back, he saw quite a number of curious faces was darting towards them. He gave each and every one of them a piercing gaze and an icy smile, which did its job nicely at frightening them off. Hikaru then grinned, satisfied at his own work before turning back to Akari who was trying her hardest not to laugh. Hikaru crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her, which finally caused her to start laughing. Even Sai was laughing together with Akira, although Hikaru was the only who could hear it.

"What is so funny, may I have the pleasure of knowing?" Hikaru asked sarcastically, addressing both Akari and Sai.

"Nothing, Hikaru. It's just weird to see you giving off death glares. You can't blame those people. We are in the middle of a hallway and you are a celebrity after all... well, kind of anyway." Answered Akira in a fit of giggles. Sai was nodding his head quite excitedly beside her.

'_Stop nodding your head so excitedly, Sai. It's going to fall off soon.'_

Hikaru thought sarcastically, sending the thought to Sai, which had the ghost immediately grabbing his head to prevent the said accident from happening. Hikaru smirked at Sai's antics before frowning slightly over Akari's statements, still unable to see what was so amusing about it. And him, a celebrity... a Go pro yes, but a celebrity? That does not make any sense. Are Go pros celebrities? It is just a profession after all, and his job. As he slowly pondered about it, he noticed three girls and a couple of guys were walking towards them. One of the girls then called out Akari's name. Hearing her name, Akari turned and smiled.

"Akimoto-sempai! Konnichiwa, sempai-tachi."

"Konnichiwa, Fujisaki." Replied a few of Akari's upperclassmen with smiles to her although all of them were curiously sneaking looks at Hikaru. As recognitions began to dawn in, they started to stare openly at Hikaru in awe. Thankfully, Hikaru had gotten used to attentions (not to forget cameras) to be not fidgeting uncomfortable under all the attentions. All he did was stared back at them with a curious yet mocking gaze and yet, not disrespectful. After all they were upperclassmen of Akari. Akari was happily smiling at all of them, preferring not to introduce the 'celebrity' to watching the bound-to-be interesting exchange. Sai was looking dumbly at everybody, confusion in his face.

"Ne, Hikaru, what's going on?" Asked the ghost finally, unable to stand the staring and the silence anymore.

'_Wakaranai, Sai.'_ Answered Hikaru calmly, finally raising an eyebrow at all of them, and prompting some to look away in embarrassment.

"Ano... are you Shindou Hikaru?" Asked one of the girls shyly.

Looking a bit surprised, Hikaru nodded his head in assent. At that, the three girls all looked dreamy and even the guys looked awed. Unable to understand their attitude, Hikaru turned to Akari, silently asking her the reason. Akari smiled as she relented.

"Hikaru, these are my sempai-tachi from the Go club. I believe they are admirers of you and Touya-kun." Akari smiled before leaning forward to whisper in Hikaru's ear. "Actually they admired a lot of pros, especially those who are good-looking or young. Too bad you're one of them."

Akari straightened, giggling while Hikaru was confused over what Akari had said. Actually he was only confused about the words 'too bad'; unable to understand why would being admired by them is too bad. He soon had his answer as all the three girls crowded him and bombarded him with questions, each trying to get hold of his hands. Although Hikaru had gotten used to all the attentions he received as a pro, he was still not and most probably will never be used to being crowded. Sai was looking quite bewildered standing beside Akari as the three girls continue crowding Hikaru.

Finally, Hikaru held up both his hands and asked them politely but firmly to stop their actions before smiling sweetly telling them that he could only answer a question at a time and that he preferred not to be pushed around. The three girls cringed slightly realizing their embarrassing attitude but at the same time they were blushing over Hikaru's sweet smile and polite words. Even the guys were in awe at Hikaru's ability to handle the three fan girls so expertly. Hikaru kept his smile, silently thanking Kami-sama that Touya had advised him beforehand what to do in such situations.

"Sumimasen!" All the three girls bowed as one of them apologized to Hikaru. "Please forgive us for our embarrassing attitude. I suppose we were too excited about meeting a Go pro whom we admire very much in our school face to face, especially since the news that you were studying here seemed to be nothing but rumors."

Hikaru grinned slightly at the apology and explanations, while sneaking a look to Akari, who was grinning back to him innocently. Obviously Akari had choose not to correct the so-called rumors... since when had she became so mischievous?

"Please allow me to introduce ourselves." The girl continued, now smiling shyly at Hikaru. "The two guys behind me are Matsuo Masahiro and Shimizu Naoki, these two girls are Inoue Chiaki and Saruwatari Yumi and I am Akimoto Kumiko. Please to meet you." As Kumiko introduced them, each of them bowed upon hearing their name before straightening up to smile or wave at Hikaru. Hikaru gave a small smile before bowing himself.

"Yoroshiku. Shindou Hikaru desu."

The whole group, minus Akari and Sai, blushed (yes, even the guys!) at Hikaru's politeness. Sai was exclaiming from behind the scene how polite Hikaru had become and that his little Hikaru had all grown up. Hikaru inwardly winced at Sai calling him little before straightening up and giving the whole group one of his winning smiles.

"I'm very sorry but I have to excuse myself now. I had some errands to run and a commitment to fulfill." Hikaru told the star-struck group, earning another ten points in their rating scales. They continued staring as Hikaru turned to talk to Akari before bidding her farewell. Hikaru then smiled and bowed to all of them again before turning and walked away, followed by the skipping ghost.

"Ne, Kumiko-chan, for a kouhai he is very mature and handsome, ne?" asked a dreamy-eyed Yumi.

"Aa... even Matsuo and Shimizu think so too." Kumiko said cheekily, pointing at the two boys who immediately tried to cover up that they too were taken in by the younger boy too. Their denials and antics caused all four girls to crack up, laughing at them. In the end they gave up and admitted that they were very much entranced by Shindou-kun.

"He may be a guy as well but he's so different! You can't blame us for being captivated by him also." Said Naoki heatedly in defense as Masahiro was starting to rival a tomato under the perusals of the four girls. "It's not like as if we are attracted by him."

The two boys started to look more uncomfortable as Kumiko and Yumi pinned them down with a disbelieving look, intended on bullying the two boys mercilessly. Akari and Chiaki laughed softly, before Chiaki decided to take pity on the two boys and stop her two best friends' teasing.

"Minna, we're going to be late if we don't make a move now." Chiaki said in her soft musical voice.

"Ah! You're right, Chiaki-chan. Lets hurry up! I want to tell everyone about Hikaru-sama!" Kumiko exclaimed cheerfully while sprinting into a run towards their Go Club room. The rest of the group quickly followed her. Suddenly she turned back to glower at Akari. "Fujisaki-chan! You knew Hikaru-sama and you did not tell us! How could you? Yurusanai!"

Akari just gave one of her innocent smiles as she made up some excuse about Hikaru not wanting to be in the spotlights. Her excuse seems to pacify her sempai who nodded and turned back to watch where she is running to, excitement coursing through her as she thought about the news of their Hikaru-sama studying in the same school as them. She was already complementing on starting a Fan Club solely for their resident Go pro.

Meanwhile Akari was smiling secretly, amused at her sempai calling her long-time friend Hikaru-sama. She shrugged, guessed that it is to be expected, after all how many pros there were that were of schooling age... not to mention to be still schooling. All she knew was she was very happy, to be able to have a heart-to-heart talk with Hikaru again. She did not know nor understand what had happened in Hikaru's life, but she was glad that Hikaru had come back to her and began to slowly smile again. She knew that back in junior high some of her friends thought that Hikaru was her boyfriend or she had an unrequited love, even she had thought so too. But now she knew better, the two of them were the best of friends and while they do loved each other, but they were not in love. And that kind of love... is the best kind of all.

----------------------------

Hikaru softly whistled as he strolled towards the library. He needed to pick up a few books to write an essay about Lady Murasaki Shikibu, who wrote the famous literature, 'The Tales of Prince Genji'... although, Hikaru suddenly realized, it will probably be much easier asking Sai about her, since both of them were from the Heian period.

'_Ne Sai, do you know a Lady Murasaki Shikibu back when you were still alive?'_

"Lady Murasaki Shikibu? Iie, I don't think so. Why?"

'_Iie, betsuni. I'm supposed to write an essay about her, and I was just wondering if you knew about her, since both of you are from the same period.'_

"Iie, gomen Hikaru. I can't help you with that. But I have heard of the book before..." Sai smiled softly as he thought back to the happy times when he was still alive and not so alive. Then he frowned slightly. "Hikaru, who could she be from my time? Females that time did not learn how to read or write, with a few exceptions of those of the royal blood or of higher status."

'_I believed she learned those skills herself, and if I am not mistaken, she was only a maidservant for the queen then but possessed great knowledge. I've heard that she even know kanji which was mainly meant for males. Never mind, I'll find out more about her and I'll tell you all about it.'_

"Hai! Hai!" Sai answered cheerfully as they finally reached the library. As usual, the childish ghost was awed by the size of the library and started flitting left and right all over the library looking at everything and nothing while Hikaru went to look for his books. Half an hour later, Hikaru walked out of the library carrying three thick books in his arms. Sai was staring quite fascinated with the books, which was totally obstructing Hikaru's view and finally had him snapping at the ghost.

"Ah! Gomen Hikaru! It's just that these books seem so old. Look! They are yellow near the edge of the pages!" Sai said excitedly, even though he was professing sadness at the ill-kept books. "Why couldn't you get those newer books?"

'_Sai... these are what I need for my study materials. I just can't choose any book at random, right?'_

"True... so where are we going now?" Sai skipped happily beside Hikaru as they walked towards the school main entrance.

'_To Waya's apartment. It's too late for me to return home for a change now. Come on, lets hurry up. I'm going to be so late... and dead by the time I reach there.'_

Hikaru sighed mournfully as Sai laughed, remembering that the brown-haired boy usually screamed at Hikaru whenever he was late... and when Hikaru is being plain ignorant. In fact, Waya seems to scream at Hikaru almost every time they met up. Sai suddenly stopped in his tracks when he spotted someone standing just outside the main entrance, looking extremely unsure of himself.

"Ne Hikaru..." Sai poked Hikaru with his fan, eyes still trained on the unlikely figure outside the gates.

'_Huh? What is it Sai?'_ Hikaru asked distractedly, trying to balance all the books he was holding to a more comfortable position.

"I think Touya-kun is here to see you."

'... _Nani??!! Again?!'_ Hikaru exclaimed loudly in his mind, nearly dropping his books while fearing the worse and shocking the ghost slightly. He quickly looked around before finally spotting the other boy still in his uniform and holding his bags, leaning against the wall while staring at his shoes. Hikaru paused in his steps, frowning at the figure that looked like Touya Akira but definitely did not act like the Touya Akira he knew. The Akira he knew would just enter his school, hunted him down and demands for something or another. The Akira standing in front of him was... for lack of better word, insecure. Curious and a bit worried, Hikaru slowly approached the other boy.

Akira was still wondering what he was doing here. He knew he had finally made the decision to tell Hikaru about the reappearance of Ko Yongha, but he could easily do so with just a miserable phone call. There was no need for him to travel all the way to Haze Senior High to give out the grand news. He stared at the interior of the school for a moment before turning around, sighing and leaned against the wall of the entrance. Silently he asked himself again what he was doing here. His mind blanked out as he stared at his shoes, for once pure uncertainty lacing through his figure.

"Touya?"

Startled, Akira snapped his gaze up just to collide with concern green eyes. Akira thought distractedly that those green eyes had more grayness in them than what he usually thought. Suddenly realizing his position and who exactly he was staring at, Akira straightened and smiled nervously at Hikaru.

"Shindou... konnichiwa." Not knowing what to say, Akira said the first thing that popped into his mind and promptly kicked himself for it.

"Eh? Ah... Konnichiwa." Hikaru answered awkwardly and stared at Akira curiously while Akira inwardly cringed.

'_Probably wondering what was wrong with me today. Especially since we hardly exchange any pleasantries...'_

"Touya... daijoubu?" Hikaru asked tentatively, the other boy was fairly freaking him out.

"Aa..." Akira trailed off, wondering how to broach the subject with Hikaru. He knew it would be hard, but he did not guess that it would be this difficult. So he just stood there fidgeting with his teeth tightly clenched, praying for guidance.

Sai was staring at Akira all the while, plainly curious about the young boy's reactions. As far as he knew, Touya Akira had only been nervous once. That was during the inter-school Go tournament when they were still in junior high where he finally had Hikaru cornered for a game. Thinking that Hikaru was the one who had beaten him the first and second time around whence it was Sai who played him, Akira had relentlessly chased after Hikaru when Hikaru had refused to play him anymore after the second game. When he had Hikaru finally cornered, he was triumphed and determined, but underneath it all, there was fear and nervousness also. And the Akira in front of them today was definitely very nervous.

"Ne, Hikaru... I think there is something very wrong with Touya-kun."

'_I can see that, Sai. I'm not blind, contrary to what all of you think. The thing is I don't know what to say to him. I had never seen him like this to know how to react...'_

"How about just dragging him along? That way you both won't have to stand at the main gate." Sai replied in a wise tone.

Hikaru rolled his eyes as he sent a sarcastic thank you to Sai. Then he turned to regard Akira, who was still looking at the ground and fidgeting slightly. Hikaru suddenly had an insight that Akira may have some thing important to tell him. And by the looks of Akira, pressing the matter would not help at all, so he decided to follow Sai's suggestion, as lame as he thought it was. Smiling softly, he called out to Akira.

"Hey, Touya. Want to take a walk with me? The weather is very nice today. Besides, there's somewhere I need to go. Walk with me?"

Akira looked up, surprised that Hikaru had asked him to walk with him. As he saw understanding in Hikaru's eyes, he smiled gratefully and nodded his assent. The two boys then walked down the path, followed by the genki ghost. A comfortable silence soon settled between them, which neither of the boys took noticed of. If they had, they would be surprise, for this will be the first time they had actually spent time in each other company without death glares or a yelling match every fifteen minutes or so.

After a long while, Akira finally calmed down enough to bring up the dreaded subject with Hikaru. He told Hikaru he wanted to talk over something important with him. Hikaru nodded and then pointed out a small park just beyond the turning near the ramen shop and gestured that they have the talk there. Soon both the boys were sitting down on an unoccupied bench, books and bags placed on the ground beside them. Hikaru looked around to make sure Sai had not went off to far (the ghost had earlier squealed at the beautiful park and the beautiful fountain while jumping around in excitement and scolding Hikaru for not bringing him to this kind of places more often) and found the hyper ghost near the fountain, staring deeply into it.

'_Probably found some beautiful fishes or the beautiful water enchanting.'_ Hikaru thought exasperatedly before turning to Akira, who had once again lapsed into silence, but this time he was no longer nervous or fidgeting. So Hikaru waited till Akira was ready to talk, thinking momentary how Waya is going to kill him this time since he had been missing a lot their group studies.

"Shindou... there is something I need to tell you. I supposed you guessed so as much." Akira started saying before stopping for a moment, as if to recollect himself before turning to face Hikaru with an intense glare. "There is no easy way about it, and this will probably come as a bad news and a shock to you... and I hope you won't get mad or sad or anything after hearing this...especially to me..." Akira trailed off softly, his words mingled with the winds, almost losing themselves in it.

Hikaru, who was already surprised by Akira's initial behavior, needless to say was now very surprised now. He wondered for a moment what could had made Akira acted like this to the point of thinking that Hikaru might even get upset at him. True, they were rivals, but they were also friends... of some sort, Hikaru believed.

"Ne Touya, I do not know what is it that had you so worked up, but I do not believe that I'll ever truly get mad at you... maybe except above the goban, that is." Hikaru then gave Touya a lopsided grin. "We are tomodachi, ne? Tomodachi do not get mad at each other for long and they always stays together. That was what someone taught me today."

"Tomo...dachi?" Akira looked at Hikaru surprised before a sweet smile graced his features. "Arigatou, Shindou-kun. And yes, I guess we are friends... friends and rivals, I guess."

Hikaru grinned at Akira and upon receiving an answering smile he leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes, face facing heavenwards basking in the warm sunlight. Akira felt at peace sitting beside his friend and rival, synchronizing with the feeling of contentment and peace that was radiating off Hikaru.

"Ne, Touya-kun, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

At that, Akira immediately looked away, sad that he had to spoil this moment and feeling guilty that he might cause Hikaru harm. He took a deep breath before replying.

"Shindou... Ko Yongha is back in Japan."

Hikaru tensed upon hearing those words, feeling as if the world had literally fallen down on him. At first he had thought that Akira was playing a joke on him, and then he recalled Akira's actions and behavior, and the tone of his voice when he said those fateful words, and realized that Akira spoke the truth. Still keeping his eyes closed, he slowly sat up and crouched down slightly, lower arms resting on his calves as he thought of what significant do those words held. Suddenly his mind was in a jumble.

"I see. What is he doing here, Touya? And how do you know?"

"He is here with his sempai on a holiday, or so he says. I know because they are currently staying at my house as guests of otou-san." Akira replied cautiously, deciding to leave out the part where Yongha had asked for Hikaru.

Hikaru nodded, eyes still closed and looking quite troubled. Tentatively, Akira reached out to touch Hikaru's shoulder, giving him silent support. They stayed in that position as the world continued to run by.

"Why are you telling me this, Touya?" Hikaru asked in a while, his voice so soft that Touya almost missed the question.

"I... I thought that you would like to know." Answered Akira awkwardly, he could not very well tell him that Yongha's seemingly one purpose is to find Hikaru... right?

"Sou ka? Why would you think that I want to know about that jerk? True, I can not forgive him for all those insults and I most probably hate him and I want to beat him in Go, to gain back Shuusaku's honor. But why are you looking out for me like this?" Hikaru asked tiredly, suddenly the weight of the world seems to be on his shoulders.

At lost for words, Akira only stared at Hikaru. He too asked himself, the reasons he was looking out for Hikaru. Suddenly their relationship of rivalry seemed too trivial. Out of the blue he remembered, he remembered that he thought of himself more than just Hikaru's rival, he thought of himself as Hikaru's friend, and he knew he cared for this friend and rival of his. With determination set in his jaw, he answered, hoping that Hikaru had meant what he had said earlier.

"Because you are my friend, Shindou Hikaru. I may not have many friends, but I do believe they look out for one another."

Hikaru gave a bittersweet laugh, staying in his forlorn position, still burdened and tired, and it made Akira worried, to see his newly officially declared friend suddenly so wizen.

"I know that, Touya. I know friends look out for each other, but that does not answer my question. There is something more isn't it?" Asked Hikaru harshly, with steel in his voice, a tone that Akira had never heard before. Akira hesitated, wondering for a moment whether to reveal tell Hikaru about Yongha's intention. Making a quick decision, he nodded.

"Yes... you're right. There is something more." Akira paused, for a moment wondered again if he is doing the best thing in telling Hikaru about it. He looked towards the clear sky, unable to find an answer within himself. His quick decision suddenly seemed too hasty.

"And what is it?" Hikaru's distant voice startled him out of his reverie, turning him back to face the other boy. For a moment he just gazed at Hikaru, memories of the past suddenly swarmed him. He then told himself to believe in Hikaru strength and determination, somehow knowing that Hikaru would definitely pull through this new obstacle like how he did with the others.

"It had seems that... well, Yongha wants to see you. I do not know why, but for some reasons, he seems to be really interested in you. He even asked me to bring him to you, and when I declined, he just laughed and said he had his own way of finding you."

Under his hand, he could feel Hikaru's shoulders tensed as he related his tale before drooping down dejectedly, his head nodded once in thanks for telling him. Akira suddenly wished he had telepathy powers, wanting to know what was going on in Hikaru's head. Not for the first time and he was certain, not the last either, the supposedly simple boy confused and eluded him. Whenever he thought he had finally figured Hikaru out, Hikaru will undoubtedly and immediately proved him wrong. Frankly speaking, it was pure frustrations.

Distantly Hikaru could hear Sai laughing. It had seems that the ghost really enjoyed being surrounded by nature, trees and flowers. Hearing Sai's childish laughter somehow strengthens Hikaru's soul, and he knew that petty revenge was insignificant now. He knew that he still had not forgiven the Korean for those insults, but it had seems that, with Sai's reappearance, his anger, his helplessness, had gone. Briefly he wondered, wondered if he still wanted revenge at the redhead. He then shook his head out of that thought. What was important now was to show the cocky Korean that Honinbo Shuusaku was a great Go master, even if the jerk had not truly meant those insults... at least that were what Suyon and Touya had said. He would not ask Sai to beat Ko Yongha, but instead will do so with his own strength, using solely Shuusaku's moves he had learnt both from Sai and kifus. New determination course through him as he sat up straight and looked over to Akira.

"Don't worry Touya, I'm fine. I do not know why that jerk wants to find me, but... I guess I have a new challenge now eh? Just let him come." Hikaru told Akira with a determined smile and a steely look in his eyes.

Akira searched Hikaru's eyes, and then seemingly satisfied that Hikaru was not going to fall into depression again or was angry or upset at him, he smiled, gladded that Hikaru had taken the news better than he had expected him to. He then raised his eyebrows mockingly at Hikaru.

"Challenge? More like retribution ne?" Akira asked in a proud yet teasing tone. Hikaru shook his head slightly, thinking that only Touya Akira could accomplish being dignify and childish at the same time. He then gave Akira a smile that was both mysterious and revealing, telling nothing and yet hinted at everything. Akira shook his head and smiled gently, not pushing Hikaru for answers. He then took up the lazy position Hikaru was in earlier, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face, vaguely understanding cats' loves of napping under the sun.

"Don't forget Shindou Hikaru. I am your only rival." Akira whispered softly, loud enough only for Hikaru to hear.

Hikaru smiled at the possessiveness in Akira's words, knowing that he too claimed the same demands from the green-haired boy.

"Aa." Hikaru softly whispered back to Akira, leaning back against the bench, contented to be at peace with the world and leaving all his troubles behind.

Sai looked up from where he was, watching the two boys relaxing side by side quietly and peacefully, truly a big change from when he last saw them together yesterday, where both of them were determined to bring to roof down. Sai smiled happily.

'_It seems like those two had talked things out. So me being discreet had been well utilized after all. Looks like Hikaru is slowly healing. Yokata ni.'_

Sai then flopped down onto the grass, gladded that in some way, he could still feel and enjoy nature, like the smell of grass, the warmth of the sun, the teasing of the wind and the lovely fragrance of flowers. It is really great to be able to feel, Sai muses as he watched the clouds floated by slowly, changing shapes as they go on. Sai slowly lost track of time as he stayed where he was, not that time was very noteworthy for a timeless ghost like him.

The sun was almost setting when he heard Hikaru mentally calling out to him. He quickly sat up to see both Hikaru and Akira picking up their bags and books respectively before walking together towards the subway. Hikaru looked back slightly at the ghost, trying not to give Akira any thing to be suspicious about.

'_Sai! Are you coming? Surely you have enough of the park already... we're going home now. Hayaku! Otherwise I'll just leave you here alone.'_

"Eh?? Wa... Hikaru hidoi!" Sai quickly ran after the two boys while crying his heart out at Hikaru's harsh words. Hikaru just laughed inwardly at Sai's expected reaction. Suddenly Hikaru bumped into a solid figure only to find out it was Akira.

"Touya, wh--"

"Look at the beautiful sunset, Shindou. It seems so beautiful today ne?"

Akira, not caring that Hikaru had literally run into him, was watching the setting sun with wonder in his face. Curious, Hikaru and Sai looked towards the horizon and to their amazement, found that Akira was right. Today's sunset had to be the most beautiful sunset they had ever seen; even the one thousand years old ghost could not deny it. All three of them stood there, watched as the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon before finally walking to the subway. Although none of them voiced it out, this was one unforgettable day that would forever remained in their heart and mind.

_-owari-_

_-------------------------------------_

Chapter 6 up!! I know this is one fast update, but I had nothing to do for the moment, except eat and sleep. I created some characters as Akari's sempai-tachi. Where I found such names? Beats me, I just find them meaningful. Kumiko means 'eternal beautiful child', Yumi means 'beautiful bow', Chiaki means 'very fine in autumn', Masahiro is 'big hero' and Naoki is 'straight tree'. Whatever... I think I'm going a bit mad here. The heat is getting to me!!! How could it be so hot?! Imagine sweating immediately after bathing cold water! Weather is horrible!!

And thank you thank you thank you for all the reviews. Glad to know that all of you enjoyed my fic. As for any pairing, I'll just go with my flow and see what I cook up. Hopefully it'll be of your taste. But I don't think I'll do a HikaSai pairing. It seems a bit odd for someone to be with a ghost, but I do know Sai and Hikaru will forever be together... in a way. Anyway I hope all of you will enjoy this chapter. Thank you again so much!!

Explanations:

Genki – literally means happy.

Iie – no

Betsuni – it's nothing/it's all right

Minna - everybody

Sensei – teacher

Gomen/sumimasen – sorry

Sou ka / sou da ne – is that so

Hidoi – cruel

Yoroshiku – please to make your acquaintance

Konnichiwa – good afternoon

Sempai/sempai-tachi – upperclassman, tachi used as in plural

Kouhai – underclassman

Yurusanai – unforgivable

Tomodachi – friends

Nani – what

Hayaku – hurry up

Yokata ni – I'm so glad

Wakaranai – I do not know


	7. Chapter 7: The Night Before

**Title :**A game of lost and found

**Warnings :** I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary** :Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer :**I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

**Foreword:** First of all… this fic is NOT beta. And I am NOT a native speaker of English. As someone already pointed out, I do have grammatical errors, horrible usage of verbs, yada, yada… in my fic. So if you were to read this and find my English a disaster, please do not say I did not warn you. As for getting it beta, I don't think so as I am only writing this for fun and to release some tension. To get it beta seems a bit too troublesome… and I had other commitments. Anyway, I'm still trying to improve my English… so for those still wanting to read my fic, thank you and please bear with me. Arigatou!!

………………………………..

**Chapter 7: The Night Before**

It was late evening by the time Hikaru reached home with Sai in tow. Tiredly, he walked in and uttered a greeting to his parents as he took off his shoes. Hearing a soft 'okaerinasai' from both his parents coming from the kitchen, he walks towards it, leaving his backpack and books in the hallway.

Hikaru walked into the kitchen and waved tiredly at both his parents who were sitting on the dining table while walking towards the refrigerator and took out a bottle of milk. Both his parents had finished their dinner earlier and were waiting for Hikaru to return. Mrs. Shindou immediately got up to heat up Hikaru's dinner while his otou-san asked him about his day which he dutifully replied while gulping down his milk. From the corner of his eye he could see Sai standing beside his okaa-san, watching her heat up his dinner. Even after being with Hikaru in the twentieth century for so long had not lessened the ghost's fascination with modern gadgets.

Just then the hallway phone shrilled loudly. Excusing himself politely from the kitchen, Hikaru hurried to answer it… and promptly wished that he did not.

"Moshi moshi. Shindou desu."

_"SHINDOU HIKARU!! YOU BAKA! WHERE IN THE SEVEN HELLS WERE YOU?!"_

Hikaru winced, holding the phone away from his much abused ear, thinking mournfully at the same time what had he done this time. His eye widen comically as he realized that he stood Waya and the rest of the gang up when Touya met him and told him about Ko Yongha… in fact he forgotten totally about them.

_'I am so dead…' _Hikaru thought in panic as Sai rushed out from the kitchen to find him. Sai had felt the disturbance in Hikaru when he answered the phone so he rushed out to find the very much younger boy.

"Hikaru… daijoubu? (all right)" Sai asked worriedly, looking at the panicking boy in concern.

_'I don't think so… Waya is no doubt asking for my head on a platter… I have totally forgotten about meeting them when Touya came over to school today. I am so dead!'_

Quickly turning his attention back to the phone, Hikaru tried to pacify Waya as much as he could. Sai sagged down onto the ground with the knowledge that it was such a small matter after all. He smiled slightly to himself, realizing how much the boy means to him. He may be dead… but that does not means his emotions and feelings were as well. He knew he should had reminded Hikaru about the get-together, but he and Akira seems to have many things to talk about and settled, not to mention the heavy air that surrounded them when they were at the park. Besides… it is not like his memory is that good, by the time they ready to leave, Sai had forgotten all about Go and the get-together. He sighed as he watched Hikaru talked on the phone, getting more panicky as more sweat-drops form on his head.

Hikaru, on the other hand, was pretty much, as he claimed, dead. Waya was more than just pissed off, Waya was extremely pissed off and angry… which means Hikaru is still going to get it from the older boy the next time they meet. Hikaru was sure he could hear Isumi's pacifying voice on the other end of the line trying to calm Waya down as well. Hikaru winced as he heard Waya turned away from the phone to shout at Isumi momentary before going back full-force at him. He wondered slightly if he should sympathize with Isumi since he had to take some major telling-off from Waya thanks to him.

In the end, half an hour later Hikaru was convinced that he should sympathize himself more instead of Isumi. It had taken almost a thousand apologies together with an offer of free lunch and dinner courtesy of Hikaru and another promise to turn up tomorrow before Waya was able to forgive him, reluctantly.

_"REMEMBER YOU BAKA! YOU OWE ALL OF US LUNCH AND DINNER! AND YOU BETTER TURN UP TOMORROW, OTHERWISE THE UPCOMING GO PRO SHINDOU HIKARU IS TURNING UP DEAD! YOU HEAR ME?!"_

"Hai hai. Gomen nasai. I promise I'll turn up tomorrow no matter what. I won't forget this time."

"Huh! You BETTER!"

With that, Waya hung up the phone. Hikaru cradled the phone to his chest and slid down to the ground, relief evident in every part of his body. Sai came over to Hikaru and hovered around him, before gaining courage to poke him lightly, wondering the state of the boy now.

"Huh? Sorry, Sai. Waya scares me…" At his admission, Hikaru gave a little shiver before standing up and put the phone back to its cradle. Motioning to Sai, they went back to the kitchen.

His parents looked up from the living room as he pass by and while his okaa-san informed Hikaru that his dinner is all heated up and most probably cool down by now, his otou-san turned back to the news on the television. Hikaru gave his okaa-san a grateful smile and uttered a soft 'arigato' before proceeding to the kitchen and his cold dinner. His okaa-san watched as her son disappeared from the doorway and into the kitchen.

"Ne, anata, our son has all grown up huh?" Mrs. Shindou asked her husband. Startled, Mr. Shindou looked up.

"Huh… Aa. He had grown up since he started this Go business, even though he was then only twelve…"

"Iie, that's not what I mean. Our son has really grown up now. True, he had been growing up so much faster since he picked up Go, even more so when he became a pro. But what I mean is now. Look at him, he is more different than the Hikaru we are used to. The air around him is different."

"Different? How so?" Puzzled, Mr. Shindou complemented his wife's words while his wife just stared blankly at him.

"Anata… you are dense."

"Hey, don't say such things to the main bread winner of the family. Besides, you always had been closer to Hikaru than I have ever been. You'll be more subtle to any slight changes in our son than me."

"True…" At that, Mrs. Shindou smiled softly and leaned her head onto her husband's shoulders. Mr. Shindou gave a smile back and wrapped his arm around his wife's waist. Both of them relaxed into the embrace and let the peacefulness surrounds them. The only noise that could be heard is from the television, which was still displaying news after news. After a while Mr. Shindou spoke up.

"So, what was different about Hikaru that I should have known, despite being the dense husband of yours?" Mrs. Shindou giggles softly and answered.

"Hikaru's eyes. They are so much more peaceful now. The underlying pain that was usually there had disappeared. And he seems so much more balanced now. It's like he finally found the center of balance for him. I'm not so sure if you understand me."

"Balance huh? If he had found it, then it is good. Most people live their life without the balance to keep them stable at all time. I'll be happier too, if Hikaru had finally found his balance and reached out from the dark depth he seemed to have stumbled into."

"Ah, anata! You do know what I had been talking about. You're not as dense as I claimed then… well then, you have been promoted to slow." Mrs. Shindou exclaimed in a teasing tone, clasping her hands together.

"Slow? Why slow?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out, anata."

Laughter could be heard from the occupants in the living as the couple continued their banter in a lighter mood. Unknown by them, Hikaru had been listening to their conversation all the while from the corridor. He had earlier come back to the living room, intending to tell his okaa-san not to cook dinner for him tomorrow and heard the conversation between his parents. His ears peaked up at the mentioned of his name and with his curiosity taking over, he stood hidden and listened in. Sai was still in the kitchen, happily looking around to search for any changes done since he left.

Hikaru turned back to the kitchen, deciding to tell his okaa-san tomorrow. Right now he wanted to ponder about the conversation he eavesdropped upon. He was unsure what to think of it. At one point, he wondered if he had been that lost. There was no other way to put it. Plainly, it had seem to his parents that although he had a career and still continuing his studies as his parents originally wished on his own free will, he is lost. If not on the outside, then on the inside, which means his soul has lost its way.

_'Peaceful… okaa-san says my eyes reflected peacefulness. Had I not known peace before this? Surely I do…'_

Hikaru slowly let his memories ran through his mind, thinking of the times he had with all his friends, and he realized that Sai dominated most of them. True, he and Touya had been each others obsessions and now a rival and friend. But Sai was there all the time, in his happiest, saddest, angriest… in fact, Sai has always been there. When Sai left, it seems like a part of him was gone too, making him lost. He stopped, just before the entrance to the kitchen, lost in his memories and thoughts.

_'I have been selfish. Too everyone, all they ever do was worry about me. And I bet even Sai came back because he was worried about me too.'_

Giving himself a hard mental shake, he strode into the kitchen. He immediately spotted Sai in front of his okaa-san's latest gadget, a brand new oven, much bigger than the last one. Sai stood up immediately upon noticing him and ran over and glomped him.

"Hikaruuu!! Look at the box over there. It's new, it's new! I have never seen it before… though I remembered seeing some other box that looked almost like this one… what was it called again, onen, noven, no, that wasn't it. Er… Never mind! Did you see all those buttons? They are so pretty! And there is a new cupboard there and--"

Hikaru smiled as he tuned Sai out. He peeled Sai arms from him and sat down at the table in front of his unfinished meal. As he ate, he watched Sai rattled on about his kitchen as the genki ghost practically jumped all around the kitchen. He suddenly remembered about how his okaa-san said that he was more peaceful now as he watched the ghost.

_'Since I was twelve, my life practically evolves around Sai. Even after Sai left, my decisions and choices, done consciously or unconsciously, are all Sai-influenced. If there is such thing called balance, then Sai is my balance.' _Hikaru silently thought to himself with a satisfied smile.

"Ne, Hikaru. What are you smiling about?" Sai asked upon noticing Hikaru's smile, suddenly appearing right in front of Hikaru, curious as ever.

"Eh? No, it's nothing. I'm just happy." Hikaru smiled wider as if to prove his point. Just as suddenly, he frowned, remembering the conversation he had with Akira earlier today.

"What are you thinking now, Hikaru?" Asked Sai in a more subdued tone, as if realizing that Hikaru was thinking about something of great importance.

"Just about what Touya and I talk about today… Ne Sai, do you remembered me telling you about a Korean guy who bad-mouthed Shuusaku?"

"Eh…? Yes, you said his name was Ko Yongha I believe."

"Yes, he's the one. Touya told me that he had come back to Japan for a holiday, and according to Touya, Ko Yongha seems to be really interested in meeting me. Why I do not know… maybe to have a rematch or something. But he won that time, he beat me during the Hokuto tournament after all. If there's any request for rematch, it should rightly comes from me." Hikaru frown slightly, wondering at the wheels of thoughts of the redhead pro.

"Hmm… maybe he deemed you a worthy opponent? I want to meet this guy, Hikaruu!! He must be interesting!" Sai glomped Hikaru while saying this, stars born out of excitement twinkling in his eyes.

"Er… Sai? This guy insulted you and Shuusaku. I mean, if it is true, the first time was a misunderstanding thanks to a hopeless translator, but he insulted you and Shuusaku again during the opening ceremony of the tournament, just to rile me up! He is a jerk!" Hikaru heatedly replied, not understanding nor able to find any reasons for Sai's excitement.

"Exactly, Hikaru! If someone like him could insult Shuusaku, which meant me as well, it must mean that he is confident in his Go capabilities. Furthermore, I have seen his game with you. You played well, as he did, and both of your games are extraordinary. I would like to see him play against Shuusaku and lose and just how he'll react." Sai patiently and pompously explained to Hikaru.

Hikaru sighed, picking up his plate to the wash basin while Sai hovered around hi back.

"As much as I would love to let you crush that jerk to the underworld, I want to be the one who will defeat him, using my own Go. I want to get back Shuusaku's and you honor from him. I want to make him aware that Shuusaku is way above him. I want the revenge for myself. I'm sorry Sai."

Sai smiled happily.

"I know. There's nothing to be sorry about. Besides, I said I would like to see him play against me, not I would like to play against him, you little baka. You would just have to play Go more like me against him to satisfy my curiosity, Hikaru."

Upon hearing those words, Hikaru smiled a rare pure smile that came from his heart and light up his whole face, letting Sai know that this little sacrifice was well worth it. With a twinkle in his eyes, he smiled challengingly to Sai.

"I have a game tomorrow with a 3-Dan. Care to be my practice partner for now? I'll show you much of you I can become."

"Game? Yay!!! You're on Hikaru! I am going to crush you! Beware!" Sai shouted and glomped Hikaru.

Hikaru just laughed and choked, thanks to the pair of arms still circling around his neck. Quickly, he picked up his books and backpack from the floor before leading the ghost back up to his room, whence the game started.

………………………………..

At the other side of town, another boy of the same age with green hair cut in a page-boy style entered his home and took off his shoes, placing them neatly at the side before straightening up and called out.

"Tadaima!"

"Okaerinasai, Akira. Come, we're about to start our dinner." His okaa-san replied.

"Hai."

Akira placed his bag at the side and walked into the kitchen, greeting his parents softly and habitually before his eyes found his two guests. Smiling slightly, he greeted his two guests as well before taking his place on the table. Seon-keun waved energetically at Akira as he resumed talking to his otou-san while Yongha nodded his head in greeting and smirk slightly. Although Akira did not face Yongha after the initial greeting, he could feel the elder male's gaze on him, never moving away. Throughout the whole of dinner, Akira could feel the shrewd eyes on him as he kept to his dinner and did nothing to contribute into the conversation flowing about the table.

Akira immediately excused himself when he could and left the dining room, thanking his okaa-san for the dinner and silently thanking Kami-sama for being able to escape Yongha's scrutiny. He went back into his room and proceeds to do his nightly routine, which was homework, Go then bedtime. He picked up his books and sat down on his study table and started on his first homework, which was Mathematics. Mathematics was easy for him, but it required his full attention. Soon, Akira was oblivious to everything but his figures.

Suddenly there was a knock on his door, and being as absorbed as he is in his homework, he called out for the person on the other side of the door to enter absently. Yongha walked in and stood near the door, watching the oblivious younger male bent over the table, tackling his homework.

"You know, I think it is considered rude to ignore someone when you granted them entrée into your room." Yongha finally called out in an amused and mocking tone.

Startled, Akira looked up from his book and turned around, only to be faced with a smirking Yongha. Registering Yongha's words, Akira's courtesy immediately kicked in and he stood up and bow.

"I'm sorry, you must forgive my lack of manners, Yongha-san. Is there something I could do for you?"

"Forgiven and forgotten. Anyway, I was just wondering, did you meet with Shindou Hikaru today?"

Straightening up slowly, Akira watched Yongha while he pondered the question and the off-handed way Yongha brushed off his apology. Keeping his eye trained on him, Akira finally replied slowly.

"Yes, yes I did. Why?"

Yongha's only response was to grin wider and he clasped his hands together.

"Then I'm sure Shindou knows of my appearance here in Japan then. Well then, I suppose I could see him without any worries of shocking him to death then!"

Shocked, Akira's eyes widen slightly at Yongha's cheerful reply before asking back in a slightly strangled voice.

"See him… but how? And why? If it is just for a rematch, you seem to be making or rather finding a lot trouble to get it. The way you seem to be going, it is more like you want Shindou to notice you. But surely that is my imagination… Anyway, how are you going to find him in order to see him?"

Yongha smiled, eyes narrowed slightly before widening back. He watched the younger male while he marveled at his sharp perspective, even though he did dismissed it as his imagination, and wondered how much did Akira guess about his interest in Hikaru before answering flippantly.

"I visited your association today, thanks to your otou-san. It is quite a nice place by the way. And I know for certain that Shindou has a game tomorrow morning. I'll just drop by then. I told you I'll find him, with or without your help."

Yongha gave an arrogant smile to Akira, before turning to the door. Stopping just outside the door, he turned back to Akira with a look that is decisively challenging and mocking.

"Shindou's fighting spirit had always been yours, is it not, Akira-san? Surely someone such as yourself wouldn't mind lending him to me for the short time I'm going to be here. But be careful you don't lose things that are precious to you. Sleep well, Akira-san. Oyasuminasai."

Yongha smirked as he saw Akira's jaw dropped slightly, before snapping shut with hateful look in his eyes. Mouth opened in a silent laugh, he waved before disappearing from the doorway. Walking away, he smiled as he congratulated himself on managing to ruffle the feathers of the ever perfect Touya Akira. His smile turned into a grin when he heard a loud slam from behind him, indicating that the feat is more than just well done. His mind ran back to the conversation he had with the prodigy and he wondered what actions Akira is going to take to go against him. After all, he all but told Akira that he wanted Shindou Hikaru… and what Ko Yongha wants is what Ko Yongha gets. Akira is thrown in for entertainment purposes, after all a challenge is not a challenge unless there are obstacles, and Yongha just made Akira into a bigger obstacle.

_'Things are going to get very interesting from tomorrow onwards.' _Yongha thought gleefully_, 'I can't wait for the game to begin!'_

In the room, Akira was leaning against the door he just slammed, breathing hard. Suddenly Ko Yongha seems like a much bigger threat. He still did not know what exactly that Yongha wants with Hikaru… all he knew now was he did not like it one bit. He thought back to the conversation today with Hikaru, the part where he claimed Hikaru as his rival and how glad and relief he was when Hikaru agreed to it. Yongha seems to be threatening that claim he had over Hikaru. Suddenly worried but not exactly knowing why, he paced around the room, stopping in front of his desk and glared down at his homework. Deciding that maybe homework could take his mind off everything especially since it is Mathematics, he sat down again in front of his homework. Fifteen minutes later, he was in front of his goban, hoping that Go could accomplish what even the mind-trapping Mathematics could not. Another fifteen minutes later, a royally pissed off Akira could be seen cursing a certain redhead as he paced around the room not unlike an angry tiger trapped in a cage. Finally dropping down onto his bed, he groaned.

_'This is going to be a long night.'_

_-owari-_

………………………………..

A very very late chapter up. I'm so so sorry!! I just had my exams and now on holidays… I guess I was relaxing too much. And I also realize this is a much shorter chapter than most. But really, my mind is just not working during the holidays. It just shut down! Please, please forgive me. I'll try my best for the next chapter. I really hope you'll all enjoy this one though. I know I'm quite long-winded, I wanted to put out more of the individual characteristics. For those who had been following my story all along… thank you so much and please review!

I would also like to thanks those that reviewed. Your reviews reminded me all the time that I need to finish this chapter and update. Hehe, so people, especially those would want to kick me (to put it mildly) for a late update, give your thanks to my wonderful reviewers! Thank you!! Muaks!


	8. Chapter 8: A Beautiful Morning

**Title: **A game of lost and found

**Warnings :** I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary: **Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

**Foreword:** First of all… this fic is NOT beta. And I am NOT a native speaker of English. As someone already pointed out, I do have grammatical errors, horrible usage of verbs, yada, yada… in my fic. So if you were to read this and find my English a disaster, please do not say I did not warn you. As for getting it beta, I don't think so as I am only writing this for fun and to release some tension. To get it beta seems a bit too troublesome… and I had other commitments. Anyway, I'm still trying to improve my English… so for those still wanting to read my fic, thank you and please bear with me. Arigatou!!

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**Chapter 8: The Beautiful Morning**

It was a very beautiful morning the next day, but living in the fast pace Tokyo had most people ignoring the simple pleasures of life. Though, this statement was not exactly true for one particular young man. He was heading towards the Go Institute for his professional match and took his own sweet time getting there, for once enjoying the cool morning and ignoring the fast-pace life he usually leads; realizing that he needed this small reprieve. He was going to have a match with the infamous Shindou Hikaru and if the rumors were to be true, most likely he is going to lose to the first Dan badly.

Hamano Kariudo sighed dejectedly. He knows for certain that his skills and techniques are good, but he, like so many others, had to admit that the Shindou boy's skills and techniques are even better. In fact it far surpassed the qualifications that most of the lower Dans have. And those who had followed the Hokuto Cup tournament had exclaimed surprise, shock and disbelieve at the level of skills both Shindou and the Korean boy played at, especially since all of them knew that the very same Shindou Hikaru was only a first Dan. And today, though he was not looking forward to it, he is to experience the prodigy first hand.

Thinking back, he recalled that one of his acquaintances, another 3-Dan named Hasegawa Ryoushin, had a match with Shindou Hikaru early this week. He remembered coming out of the hall victorious only to encounter a shocked Hasegawa on the bench next to the vending machine. He took almost five minutes to get the poor guy of out his stupor, and then he couldn't even find out more from Hasegawa except for 'Shindou' and 'unbelievable'. He only had to hear the name 'Shindou' to conclude that Hasegawa had a game with the infamous prodigy and lost, and by the look of him, lost badly. There were no needs to even check the result slip to confirm his assumptions.

Kariudo sighed again, feeling more and more incompetent. He knew most of them, especially those that had gotten their professional licenses much earlier, could not acknowledge or even admit the new strength that came in the form of Shindou Hikaru. Already they had to put up with the ever present prodigy Touya Akira, and now with another in the scene, it seems that the rumors of a new wave of tide-changing are happening for sure. He could only hope that he will be a part of the wave and not left behind.

Without noticing, he had reached the Institute. Stopping right in front of the building, he stared blankly at the glass doors before giving himself a mental shake and walked into the building. All the while he was giving himself prep talks, to bring up his fighting spirit to go against his opponent. Yes, that is it. He shall only think of him as his opponent, not as the Shindou Hikaru. It's less nerve-wrecking that way.

Taking the elevator up, he finally managed to calm himself down to a certain extent, determined to at least give his opponent a good game. Worse come to worse, at least he will make a lasting impression… he hoped. Unfortunately his hard-built confidence crumbled as he stepped out of the elevator. For there was Shindou, eyes closed and leaning against the wall just right in front of him with a small gentle smile on his lips and seemingly deep in thoughts. Suddenly captivated by the youth in front of him, he hardly realized he was staring.

How could someone so young and gentle as he possessed such an incredible strength and yet still hold an air of innocence, but the aura of someone much older?

--------------------------

Hikaru, for once, had decided to arrive earlier for his match. Mainly because he had too much on his mind, all thanks to a certain redhead Korean. Another is because he wanted to give Sai a treat. Being wherever he was for those missing months must had bored the genki ghost senseless, so a walk in the cool morning air is bound to make the hyper ghost happy and excited. And he was right, Sai is still rattling happily about all the old and new things he had seen along the way. Although most of the times he would consider the talkative Sai, as he is now, extremely noisy, he was contented just to listen to the dearly missed voice that only he could hear. At least until his match start, this would not be for another twenty minutes or so.

Suddenly he realized that Sai was no longer talking hundred miles per hour. Smirking in his mind, he surmised that the hyper ghost must have tire himself out. _'Not surprising, after all Sai had been talking non-stop long since before we enter the building… which I believe must have been almost an hour or so. Damn, I have forgotten how talkative he could be.'_

Suddenly he felt a certain someone poking his shoulder with… a fan. Frowning slightly but almost unnoticed, he thought to Sai, _'Stop it Sai, or else I'll find some way to steal that fan of yours.' _Hikaru would rather open his mouth to scream at Sai, but unfortunately he had learned the hard way that speaking to Sai in public areas would just be, to put it mildly, bad for him.

"Ne Hikaru. There a guy standing right in front of you. Do you know him? He has been staring at you for a while now…" Sai replied, ignoring the jibe thrown by Hikaru.

Shocked from Sai's statement, Hikaru immediately opened his eyes to see the said person, who according to Sai, had been staring at him for a while. Noticing Hamano Kariudo in front of him, he relaxed slightly.

_'Kuso… That baka Korean really had me worked up! Wake up Hikaru! Get real, do you really think_ the_ Ko Yongha will appeared out of the blue in front of you? Calm down… breath in, breath out.'_

As Hikaru was silently berating himself, he kept his eyes all the while trained on the elder youth in front of him. Thanks to Sai, he had learned a long time ago to be able to think or talk to Sai in his mind while his body does something else, which was now to regard the person in front of him silently. Normally Hikaru would just stared back coldly before ignoring them totally, but there were something different about the way the other youth was staring at him. Quickly Hikaru realized what was different about the other youth. Normally most Go pros would regard him with a calculating look or something equally challenging. Quite understandable really, since he realized that he is some-what of an enigma. Waya and Ochi and the rest had said so often enough anyway.

The guy in front of him was staring at him with some kind of awe. Inwardly, Hikaru smirked. Who would have guess that he would have someone to look at him with admiration mixed with fear in their eyes. Now that is amusing and… interesting. Finally noticing that the youth in front of him is still staring at him dumb-struck and does not even seem to realize it himself, he started to take pity on the guy. That and plus the fact that he was getting unnerved by the unwavering stare.

Smiling softly, he spoke to the elder youth. "Ohayo gozaimasu. Can I help you?"

At Hikaru soft greeting and inquiry, Kariudo startled, before catching himself. Suddenly realizing that he had been staring at Hikaru for Kami-knows how long, he quickly bowed apologetically, a delicate blush coloring his face.

"Gomen nasai Shindou-san. Forgive me for my horrendous behavior."

Silently laughing, Hikaru found himself quite amused and intrigued by the elder youth. Silently he also wondered if he was his opponent today. "No, it's quite all right. No harm done."

Hikaru continued to watch the elder youth before bowing slightly with a smile. "As you already knew, Shindou Hikaru desu."

Startled yet again, this time by Hikaru silent inquiry of his name, Kariudo bowed again. "Ha-Hamano Kariudo desu."

Hikaru smiled to himself. So he was right, this guy was his opponent, which was quite surprising. Normally his opponent would look at him with either malice or challenge, but Kariudo had not. This alone has seized his curiosity and he cocked his head to one side as he tried to figure out the person in front of him, which had Kariudo's blush heightened even more, to Hikaru's amazement and amusement.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Hamano-san. I believe we are to be opponents today, are we not?"

---------------------------------

Sai stared at Hikaru in surprised. He knew that his leaving will have a great impact on Hikaru's life and that Hikaru will change… somehow. And that was proven when he first came back to Hikaru. What he had not expected was a polite and courteous Hikaru. Right now he is watching a brand new Shindou Hikaru interacting with his opponent. The old Hikaru he used to know would interact with others in either two ways, or both if the other person happened to be 'lucky' enough, which was loud and rude. Denseness was thrown in once in a while, but other than that nothing else.

If he were not mistaken, if Hikaru were to catch someone staring at him, Hikaru would retort with a loud 'WHAT?', or something equally rude, and stared back at the said person. Come to think of it… Hikaru caught a lot of people staring at him when he hugged Akari yesterday. All Hikaru did was to gave each and every one of them a cold piercing stare, a stare good enough to rival Touya Akira's stare. He was too busy laughing to notice then, but what happen to the more vocal Hikaru?

Staring critically at Hikaru, still unable to grasp any answer, Sai finally sighed. If it not for the connection he had with Hikaru, he would have not believed that this is the very same boy he had known since he was twelve.

Silently he wondered what had happened to the brash and rude boy he had known since he was twelve. The sixteen years old youth in front of him does not seem to resemble the boy he used to know. Come to think of it, he has yet to see the brash and rude side of Hikaru since he came back… not even against him. True, he was and still is immune to Hikaru's rude way of treating him, but now that he had come to realized it, Hikaru had not been rude to him at all. Sarcastic, yes. Annoyingly patient, yes. Hmm… he even recalled Hikaru even spoke to him as if he was a child…

With a start, he realized that he had not once encountered the brash, rude or even loud Hikaru that he was so used to.

_'What happened to changed Hikaru so? Or maybe I should ask… what changed Hikaru so?'_

Mentally, he hit himself over his head. It is not like he was not happy or glad at this… _reformed_ Hikaru, it is just that it was way too unexpected. Weird even. Again silently he wondered if the loud and rude baka stills resided in Hikaru. Suddenly another thought entered Sai's soon-to-be-overloaded mind.

_'Where on earth did Hikaru learned all these manners from?'_

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To put it mildly, Kariudo was shocked that Hikaru had spoke to him at all, let alone start a conversation with him. He was aghast earlier to be caught by Hikaru while he was staring dumbly at him for Kami-knows what reasons. He was moaning to himself about his so-called _lasting impression_ on the younger boy when he heard Hikaru introducing himself, indicating silently but surely that he wants a name in return.

He managed to get his voice back just to answer Hikaru, almost stuttering out his response. "Ha-Hamano Kariudo desu."

Dismayed that he was acting so embarrassingly in front of the Shindou Hikaru, he cringed slightly even more at the noticeable amusement in Hikaru's eyes. Silently he gave thanks to whatever or whichever Kami-sama that none of his friends or acquaintances were here to witness his, by no doubt, embarrassing moment.

Suddenly Hikaru gave him a smile, a small but genuine smile that captivated him once again, letting him forgets all his embarrassment.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Hamano-san. I believe we are to be opponents today, are we not?"

Dumbly, Kariudo only nodded before catching himself yet again. "Ah-Hai. We are opponents for today, Shindou-san. Er- I mean, yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Hikaru smiled again at him before straightening up and walked towards the vending machine. Kariudo sighed softly in relief while his shoulders drooped dolefully. He had just managed to make a complete fool of himself in front of a younger person. If that was not bad enough, it was in front of Shindou Hikaru, his opponent and someone he was starting to look up to even though he is younger. With such a powerful hand in Go, who wouldn't?

Then again, he could name quite a few who wouldn't acknowledge Shindou Hikaru. Mainly due to the fact that he is so much younger than most of them, being a mere sixteen years old only. Also because Hikaru had skipped all his matches for almost half a year with no explanations given, and then came back into the world of Go out of the blue. True that he had been winning every single game since then, but most pros are pig-headed. They refused to acknowledge Hikaru at all. Then again, it might due to the fact that most of them are afraid…

He was still standing rooted to the same place since he stepped out of the elevator with his eyes trained to the ground; now back to finding ways to console himself for an impression _well-done_. Suddenly a can of coffee was thrust in front of him, making him looked up with surprise. Hikaru was standing there smiling gently at him as he silently urged him to take the coffee.

"My treat. You looked like you could use a cup of coffee. And since these are the only types of coffee I can offer you here… take it."

Dumbly Kariudo accepted the can of coffee, muttering an almost inaudible 'arigato'. He watched as Hikaru smiled in return (_'What a wonderful smile he had'_, though Kariudo distractedly.) before walking towards the nearby bench and opening his own can of coffee. As he sat down, Hikaru looked towards him and gestured for him to take the seat next to him.

Without knowing what else to do, he walked towards the seat and sat down, glancing at his watch at the same time. Ten minutes left before the matches start. Hikaru once again was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, hands wrapped around the can of coffee. He looked away and stared at the can of coffee in his hands, complementing on what he was doing and what is he to do now, when Hikaru spoke.

"You know, I believe the coffee would not disappear even if you stare harder at it."

"Huh?" Kariudo blinked dumbly at him, before the full implications of what Hikaru was saying hit him. "Ah-gomen! I-I… erm-"

"Relax, I was only teasing Hamano-san. I take it you don't like coffee?"

"Eh? No, no, not that. I mean I do enjoy coffee, especially good coffee. It's just that… I'm surprise you offered me a can…"

Kariudo's voice trailed off as he stared at his can of coffee yet again, before looking up to his companion. Hikaru was frowning confusedly at him as Kariudo realized that he just uttered one of his inner thoughts out loud without thinking. Silently whacking himself, he quickly apologized.

"Gomen nasai Shindou-san. I didn't mean to sound so ungrateful or anything. I'm just surprised. I mean, normally opponents don't even look at each other without a slight challenge in the eyes and here we are, drinking coffee together."

Hikaru's frown cleared away as he heard Kariudo's explanations, his face yet again falling into a smile.

"Is that so? Well, I couldn't help it, especially since my_ opponent_ did and still does not look at me with any challenge at all. Isn't that so, Hamano-san?"

Kariudo laughed awkwardly, sweat-dropping at the same time as he rubbed the back of his head. _'He caught me on that one. How am I going to explain to him? Better yet, why am I acting this way?'_

"I-I supposed so, Shindou-san. I guess… I guess I wasn't in any mood to intimidate anybody today, opponent or not." Kariudo replied, popping open his can of coffee at the same time to hide his nervousness. _'Hopefully he will accept that excuse, lame as it is.'_

Hikaru smiled again, a bit warmer this time as he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Is that so? If it is, then I'm glad… for neither am I in any mood to intimidate anyone…" Hikaru let his voice trailed off slightly, lost in his thoughts.

_'I'm still too happy that Sai is back in my life again to seriously intimidate anyone. Hmm… intimidating your opponents seems to be a favorite pastime here… Isn't that so Sai?' _

"I suppose you could call it a formality, Hikaru. Even back in the Heian period and the time where I used to be with Torajiro, intimidation is often used against opponents. It helps in judging your opponents. It can also be used as a form of attack… which I assumed was useless against you if you are asking me such a question…"

_'Ah…haha.__ I suppose you assumed right. If that's an attack, it only geared me up even more to crush the said opponents.'_

"Ah… enlightenment. How about this opponent of yours?"

_'Hamano Kariudo? Wakaranai…he's odd, I give him that. And he has beautiful hair, Sai. It's purple and long, just like yours… though not as long as yours…'_

"And you're not even intimidating him. Instead... huh? Hair? Oh! You're right Hikaru! His hair is just like mine, but he had them all tied up in a ponytail… Hey! You're side-tracking me! As I was saying, (a glare at Hikaru) you're being all nice to him, which I believe you normally don't, especially towards your opponents."

_'Hey! I resent that, I'm not that cold. As for him… hmm…'_

Suddenly, Hikaru's eyes snapped opened again to stare mischievously at Kariudo. "Besides, I believe it's such a shame to intimidate someone as cute as you, Hamano-san." Although Hikaru was addressing Kariudo, he was also replying Sai's unasked question.

"EH??!!" This was echoed by both Kariudo and Sai, incredulous being the main feature on their faces.

If those other times were just suspicions, then Kariudo was more than absolutely sure that he is blushing right now. He shrunk even more when he realized that Hikaru was laughing good-naturedly at him. From the other boy's demeanor, he knew that Hikaru was only teasing him, but it does not make it any better.

_'Get a grip Hamano Kariudo! One would think you have a crush on Shindou Hikaru…'_

Hikaru was laughing at the elder boy's reaction when he teased him. He did not know why, but the older boy is extremely nice, not to mentioned, easy to tease, especially when he start blushing like that. It's just so… kawaii! Besides, Sai's reaction when he told Kariudo that he is cute was priceless.

Beside him he could feel Sai's waves of disapproval and amusement hitting him, letting him know that the ghost was battling on giving him a talk about bullying people and joining his laughter. In the end, disapproval won.

"Ne, Hikaru… don't be so cruel."

_'Sai… I wasn't being cruel. I was just telling the truth. He _IS_ too kawaii to be intimidated. Even you have to agree with that.'_

"True, he is kawaii… ah-wait! You're not putting me off track again. Hikaruuuuu. It's cruel to be enjoying his discomfort! And you just hurt his feelings! Apologize!"

And thus began the ghost's whining and nagging, which had Hikaru more amused than annoyed. Finally, Hikaru decided to give both his companions some relief.

_'All right, all right you big spoil-sport. I'll apologize. Now stop whining.'_

"Hamano-san? Gomen ne, I did not mean to hurt your feelings. Forgive me?"

Surprised, Kariudo looked towards him. "Eh? No, there is nothing to be sorry about. I mean I know you are only teasing. I supposed I'm just not used to such conversation. Daijoubu, Shindou-san."

"Nevertheless, I must insist you accept my apology. I may only be teasing, but I also laughed at you. Please accept my apology, otherwise I'll just perceive that you are unable to forgive me. And I'll have to hold onto the guilt for a long time to come…" A sad and soulful look came to Hikaru's face.

"Ah-no. Gomen gomen… I mean, I accept your apology. I forgive you, truly I do. Please don't…" Kariudo's babbles trailed off, as he caught sight of Hikaru's playful eyes and twitching lips. "You tricked me!"

Giving out a short bark of laughter, Hikaru broke out into a big grin. "I know. But you'll still forgive me right?" _'Ne… Sai, is that an acceptable enough apology?'_ Hikaru's only answer was a groan. He did not look at the gentle ghost as to not raise any curiosity from Kariudo, but he could imagine how the ghost looks like right now. Hikaru's grin widened as he imagined the ghost banging his head on the wall, or at least tried to.

"… Hai, you're right Shindou-san, I'll still forgive you. But that's because good manners demands me to." Kariudo grumbled out the last part, and Hikaru, being in close proximity with him, heard it. Hikaru laughed out loud again and stood up, walking towards the hall where the matches were to be held.

"Come on, Hamano-san. Our match is about to start… unless you care to forfeit?" Hikaru paused in his steps momentary to throw a devilish grin at Kariudo. Immediately Kariudo stood up with a loud protest.

"NO WAY! As a matter of fact, I'm going to give you a run for your money Shindou-san." With that, Kariudo walked determinedly towards the grinning Hikaru.

"Good. I'm glad to know that Hamano-san. Let's have a good game then. May the best man win."

Without waiting for Kariudo's answer, Hikaru turned and continued towards his destination. Kariudo smiled softly, in a way grateful towards the younger boy, his opponent. He came in here today, in a defeated mood ready to be totally crushed without even a worthy fight, thanks to his fallen confidence. Then he met his opponent and instead of the normal hard stares exchanges, they had sat down, drank coffee together and chat, or rather teasing on Hikaru's part. And somehow his opponent managed to cheer him up and even get his fighting spirits geared up and ready to go.

Indeed he had a lot to be thankful for, for how many people will take their time to cheer their opponent up? In fact most of them will just be ecstatic that they will have an easy win. And Shindou not only cheered him up, he even offered him a can of coffee _after_ knowing for sure that they were to be opponents today. Shindou Hikaru is indeed someone else altogether.

But of course he still believed that he will lose to Hikaru, but at least he was looking forward towards their match now and determined to put up a worthy fight for victory. Shindou Hikaru's victory today will be hard won.

Just as they reached the doorway, Hikaru turned back to him again with a mischievous grin that Kariudo was starting to learn to be wary of.

"Ne Hamano-san, I do mean what I said earlier. You're too kawaii to be intimidated."

Kariudo's jaw dropped as Hikaru took off his shoes and walked into the hall. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he quickly removed his shoes and stumbled into the hall, muttering all the while about a certain crazy blond-bangs eccentric prodigy.

--------------------------

Ko Yongha smirked smugly to himself as he walked toward the Tokyo Institute of Go. He could not help recalling a certain green-haired sixteen years old glaring death glares at him throughout the whole of breakfast today. A certain green-haired sixteen years old with bags under his eyes. But of course, it's only noticeable to those who really care to look carefully. And Ko Yongha is nothing but careful, especially when it concerned certain people.

Yongha chuckled softly as he thought about Touya Akira. Now that was entertaining. Who would have guess that the mere mention of Shindou Hikaru would put the other boy into such predicament. Then again… it was not just a mere mentioning of Shindou, it was a blatant challenge to Touya on the claims of Shindou's attention.

Of course, Yongha had just had to rub those raw wounds more. And what better way to do that than to inform all of them that he is going back to the Institute today to find someone to play Go with? To the rest of the occupants on the table, including his sempai, Yongha was bored and itching to play some Go, but he knew that Touya Akira took the announcement the way he wanted him to. Touya Akira's eyes had narrowed dangerously when the announcement was made.

_'He looks almost like an enraged kitten. I'm surprised he didn't start hissing at me.'_

Unable to contain his laughter, he let it out, gaining a few strange looks. Ignoring his surroundings, he looked at his watch, which set to follow the time in Japan, and noticed that it was just half past nine. The professional matches started at nine in the morning, which means, given Shindou's abilities, his match should finished in about another half an hour, if not less.

Whistling to himself softly, he finally reached the Institute and walked in confidently. Taking the elevator, he went straight to the floor where the matches were held. Peeking in, he saw Shindou concentrating in his game with another pro. He frowned as he noticed that Shindou was being over-familiar and definitely a lot less hostile toward his opponent. He shrugged it off, thinking that his opponent today must be a friend. At least he found out for sure that Shindou was still in the building.

Smiling, he backed out of the hall and went straight to the last bench at the corridor that was partially hidden by the vending machine and a short palm tree. As confident and cocky as he is, he still does not fancy people staring at him. And he being a famous Korean Go pro in a Japanese Go Institute will definitely drew more than just a few attentions. Besides, hiding out here will gives him an opportunity to observe Shindou before making his presence known.

Smiling to himself, he waited as time slowly passed by. After all, some things are worth waiting for.

He was almost asleep when he finally heard Shindou's voice. A warmer tone of a voice from what he was used to, but still unmistakably Shindou's. Slowly he straightened up and searched for the source of the voice. What he saw when he finally found Shindou did not go down well with him. Who would be when their object of obsessions was being extremely nice and friendly to another guy? Another guy who happened to be as good-looking as hell, with his long, soft purple hair and striking features.

He growled softly as he watched Shindou laughed at something the purple-haired man said mournfully before replying good-naturedly. Yongha fumed as he heard Shindou asking his companion whether he wanted a rematch whereby it was promptly accepted. There goes his chance of catching Shindou alone…

His eyes lighted up as he heard Shindou suggesting the public Go center on the ground floor that was set up by the Institute for the convenience of the pros, inseis and even the public to have an unofficial game. He almost clapped his hands together in glee when he heard Shindou's companion agreeing. Maybe his chance was not lost after all. He just has to wait until either one of them leaves… and hopefully they would not be leaving together.

-----------------------------

Hikaru and Kariudo was once again having a match of Go, this time in a less tense environment. And, as it was the same result of their one official match and two unofficial matches, Hikaru was winning. Hikaru smirked as he placed his winning stone, knowing full well that Kariudo had to admit defeat now, which he did, a minute later. Kariudo immediately slumped onto the table as Hikaru cleared up their goban cheerfully.

"Wai! Are you sure that you are only a 1-Dan? And you are merciless! At least have some pity on your sempai!" Kariudo had taken to whining pitifully after losing to Hikaru for the fourth time in a row. Hikaru laughed softly before he replied.

"Yes, I believe I'm only a 1-Dan, but I can always check it out for you if you want me to. By the way, who says you're my sempai? And as for some pity, have you not heard of 'All fair in love and war'? It applies to Go too."

"Wai! You demon reincarnate, you. I'm your sempai because I'm older and I was pro much earlier than you. So there." Kariudo almost stuck his tongue out at that but thankfully he has not been reduced being childish yet. So he settled for scowling at the younger boy. Instead of having the desired effect, it only served to amused the younger boy more.

"Ne Hikaru, I think you have tortured Hamano-san enough. By the way… can I have a game with him?"

_'Asked the person who had just accused me of torturing Hamano.__ It's true that I beat Hamano in the last four games we played, but if you were to be the one playing with him, you'll be wiping the goban with him. And I believe that is an even worse form of torture than the one you just accused me of.'_

"Ah… true… but but. WAH!!!! Hikaruuuuu!! I wanna play!"

_'Wai!!__ Stop crying Sai. Please stop crying, onegai? Besides, we're meeting Waya and the rest later. I'll let you have a game or two with them, okay?'_

"(Sniff sniff) Promise?"

Hearing the pouting voice, Hikaru mentally rolled his eyes. _'Yes, I promise.'_

"Wai!! Arigato Hikaru!"

And thus, the fully restored happy ghost was seen dancing on the spot celebrating. Hikaru could only shake his head in wonder as he turned back to another sulking purple-haired person. Suddenly struck by how similar Kariudo and Sai were, Hikaru could only shake his head again. Hikaru grinned suddenly, not about to miss out another chance to tease the elder boy.

"Ne Hamano, sulking does not do your good looks any good you know."

Just as quickly as Sai switched from crying to pure happiness, Kariudo was blushing and stuttering all over again, his cause of sulking all forgotten. Hikaru could only laugh as his ploy worked.

"Shindou! You should stop teasing me! Mou… if I didn't know better, I would believe you enjoyed doing this to me… then again I suspect that you do."

Hikaru grinned widely. "No shit, Sherlock." Unable to help himself, Hikaru start laughing again and was soon joined by a still blushing Kariudo.

Somewhere during their games, Hikaru and Kariudo had dropped all formality between them and start calling each other like friends do. If Kariudo were to think back, he would be surprised. He was in awe of the boy, ready to worship him if he were to be defeated thoroughly in their official match today, for he was to experience Shindou Hikaru's strength first-hand. In fact, he ready to worship Hikaru just the instance he had laid eyes on him. Instead, he had ended up being friends with Shindou Hikaru.

And he would be a total idiot if he were to be complaining about it. Hikaru may be an eccentric prodigy, but Kariudo also found out that Hikaru is a great person to know and befriend. It was not often that Kariudo befriended someone so easily; after all he is someone who is very picky about his friends. And it seems, Hikaru had passed all of Kariudo's requirements for friendship.

Hikaru spared a look at his watch and was surprised that it was already reaching twelve o'clock. Kariudo, watching Hikaru's actions, mimicked it and nearly shouted out in dismay, surprising Hikaru and a few patrons nearby.

"Kuso! Gomen Shindou, but I really have to run. I have a lunch appointment in half an hour with my sister… she's going to so kill me. Hopefully I'll reached there on time, otherwise checked the obituary tomorrow, I'll be there."

Kariudo grimaced as he quickly stood up, grabbing his coat at the same time while Hikaru was chuckling amusedly opposite him. Unable to ignore him, Kariudo gave Hikaru a stare.

"Don't be so happy, if you have a sister like her you'll know what I mean. Better yet I'll introduce the two of you one day, and then you'll see what I mean."

Hikaru's only response was to laugh harder, which really annoyed the elder male. Sulkily he told Hikaru to shut up and he finally got ready to leave. Choking, Hikaru called Kariudo back.

"Hey Hamano! I'm really glad to have met you today. Thanks for all the games. I'll see you around yeah?"

Kariudo turned back and smiled happily at Hikaru. "You bet, Shindou. You're not getting rid of me that easily. Got to go. Ja ne!"

Hikaru smiled in return as he bade Kariudo farewell. He leaned back against his chair, relaxing as he called out to Sai.

_'Sai, do you want to go for a walk? Or maybe you would like to have a game against me? We have more or less an hour to kill before we meet up with Waya and the gang.'_

"Eh? An hour? Then we shall-"

What Sai was about to say was cut off abruptly as a cool and well-cultured voice suddenly addressed Hikaru, catching both boy and ghost off guard. Hikaru's heart nearly stopped as he heard the distinctly familiar voice and Sai was made aware of Hikaru's sudden fear.

"Hikaru? What's wrong?" But Hikaru hardly heard Sai, trying to calm himself and not freaked out.

_'No… please tell me it could not be…'_

Dreading the worse, Hikaru slowly opened his eyes, fearing the outcome. He came face to face with a smirking red-head, before closing his eyes back with an almost inaudible groan. He took his time to sit up slowly as he mentally told Sai that this is the very person that Sai had wanted to meet last night. Summoning all his perfect manners, he opened his eyes to stare at the intruder in the eye with a cool smile plastered on his face.

"Konbanwa, Ko Yongha-san. How may I help you?"

_-owari-_

--------------------------------

_genki_ – happy (think of the normal Sai)

_baka_ – erm, idiot? Or something like that… stupid works as well

_ohayo__ gozaimasu_ – good morning

_Kami_ – God

_gomen__ (nasai) _– I'm sorry

_yoroshiku__ onegaishimasu_ – I'm pleased to make your acquaintance

_hai_ – yes

_arigato_ – thank you

_wakaranai_ – I do not know

_kawaii_ – cute

_daijoubu_ – it's all right

_sempai_ – upperclassman

_onegai_ – please

_kuso_ – Damn

_Ja__ ne_ – Bye and see you again

Yay!!! I got another chapter up. Sorry for the long delay, but I'm not going to dish out excuses. Whatever excuses I dished out, it doesn't change the fact that I took my own sweet time putting out a new chapter. All I can say is I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. As for the… erm… _nice_ ending, well, I just feel like leaving it there.

**Mag**** Wise** – Thank you, thank you, thank you! For your vote of confidence in my English. Unfortunately, I still think it's bad… sigh.

**Muse, panatlantic, zeynel, GoldenRat, anime-earth, Zen Nat** – Thank you so much for liking my fic! Blush… I'm so honored.

**Kute**** Anime Kitty, Mika, Ashura Akuma , Luna, Night-Owl123, Melissa** – Update is here! Please don't kill me or anything… hehehe.

**Shinigami****, Kodachi** – Pairings? Hmm… I'm just going along with my mind. Truth to be told, I don't really know what kind of pairing I'm doing anyway, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

There are a lot more people I should thank, but right now I'm just hit by another 'lazy-wave' as I called them. D So for those who had reviewed but whom I did not mentioned, please don't get mad at me (putting up my hands begging). I'm truly happy for all the reviews I gotten, it let me know that at least there were people reading my little fic. Kinda make me proud… something like that.

And of course, needless to say, please review. I know I had said earlier that I don't really need reviews, but it does make me happy receiving them… So please, please review? Pretty please, with cherry on top? Thank you!!


	9. Chapter 9: Enjoyable After All

**Title:** A game of lost and found

**Warnings :** I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary:** Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

**Foreword:** First of all… this fic is NOT beta. And I am NOT a native speaker of English. As someone already pointed out, I do have grammatical errors, horrible usage of verbs, yada, yada… in my fic. So if you were to read this and find my English a disaster, please do not say I did not warn you. As for getting it beta, I don't think so as I am only writing this for fun and to release some tension. To get it beta seems a bit too troublesome… and I had other commitments. Anyway, I'm still trying to improve my English… so for those still wanting to read my fic, thank you and please bear with me. Arigatou!!

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**Chapter 9: Enjoyable After All**

"Konbanwa, Ko Yongha-san. How may I help you?"

Yongha's smile widen as he heard Hikaru addressing him. True, he wasn't pleased by the fact that he was forced to wait for two whole hours just to get Hikaru alone. But right now, it seems quite worth it. Especially since the purple-haired man had to rush away for a lunch appointment. Thinking of the purple-haired idiot, a title Yongha decided to grace him with, caused the Korean to frown all over again, not that it showed on his features.

Well, anyone would be when they happened to be in his place. He growled softly as he recalled how close the interactions between Hikaru and the purple-haired idiot had been. How Hikaru had been so… _flirtatious_ with the other man. Yes, flirtatious, for there were no other words that can be used to describe it. Of course he had known what was spoken and happening between the two of them as he made it his business to know. He, after all, had been sitting behind Hikaru, not facing them of course, just a meter away.

He paused as he pondered his actions. He seems almost… nah, that could not be it. Yongha scoffed slightly. How could he, the extraordinaire Ko Yongha, be _jealous_ of another after all? Decided to leave all these heavy thinking to another time, he turned his attention back to Hikaru and noticed that the boy was still giving him a hard stare coupled with a cool smile.

_'What I wouldn't give just to have his cold mask off his face when facing me…'_

"Afternoon, Shindou Hikaru, had a good game? And please, call me Yongha."

If Hikaru was puzzled by Yongha's friendly demeanor, he did not let it showed. After all, why give the Korean any satisfaction? Instead, Hikaru decided to humor the Korean. Maybe he will be able to find out what do the Korean wants from him this way. But that does not means that Hikaru had to be friendly with him…

"Not that it is any of your business, but yes, I had a great game, Yongha-san."

"Ne Hikaru, so this is the Korean you were telling me about? Hikaruuu, he reminds me of Touya-kun. Well, almost like Touya-kun since Touya-kun don't have that kind of smile. But they are equally well-groomed… (sneaking a look towards Hikaru) not that you are not of course, but still…"

_'Hush now, Sai. Let me deal with him first. I really don't want to spend more unnecessary time in his presence.'_

"Yongha only, please, no formality. A bit too formal for my liking, wouldn't you say, Shindou?"

"I'm sorry, I have been brought up to be polite, Yongha-san." Hikaru replied with a small bow, while Sai was snickering beside him, mumbling something about Hikaru had never been polite as far as he remembered. Annoyed, Hikaru mentally asked the ghost to shut his trap.

"Is that so?" Yongha paused, staring complementary at Hikaru before continuing. "Then I hope you wouldn't mind me calling you Shindou then, even thought I would loved to address you by your given name, but since you're so adamantly… _proper_, I supposed Shindou would just have to do. After all, like I said, I don't really like being so formal and all."

Hikaru twitched ever so slightly before replying, ice endorsing every single syllabus out of his mouth. "As you wish, Yongha-san."

Yongha smiled widely, knowing full well what privilege Hikaru had just reluctantly allowed him. He understood that Japanese are polite beyond measures, and even close acquaintances addressed each other with –san. Only friends were given the privilege to forgo the formality between them. He knew full well that Hikaru do not even consider him an acquaintance, and being forced by etiquette to allow him to address him informally as most of his friends does must have cut Hikaru deep down to the core.

Not that he gave Hikaru any choice in the matter, since he expressed his wish to address him by his given name. Either that or allowing Yongha to forgo the honorary –san. And based on the hostility that was shown, Yongha concluded that he had played his cards as well as it could expected. Besides, getting a person pissed of at you is quite an efficient way of making sure that the said person's mind is kept locked at you.

Yongha frowned again as he remembered yet again of the purple-haired idiot. He recalled the hearing the so-called formality between the two of them before it dissolved into nothing. That had shoot down his assumptions that they were originally friends to begin with. Even if they were acquaintance before-hand, forgoing the required formality just between two games is, to say it lightly, absurd. Not forgetting to mention their increasing friendliness to each other. Yongha's jaw clenched slightly before he smoothened it out into another smile. Forget the purple-haired idiot, he now has Hikaru in front of him, his main priority after all.

Suddenly he realized that Hikaru had just asked him something which he, he was appalled to say, missed. Clearing his head out of the bothersome cloud it had wandered into, Yongha gave his full attention to Hikaru.

"Pardon? I'm sorry, I did not catch what you said earlier."

Hikaru's jaw tightened slightly before he repeated his question. "I asked Yongha-san if there is anything that you wanted or needed."

"Oh! No, there's really nothing I needed… yet, I think. I'm just here to see you after all. Anyway, how about a game, Shindou?"

Hikaru was caught unaware by Yongha's quicksilver change of subject and he could only repeat stupidly. "A game?"

Surprisingly, Yongha only smile pleasantly in placed of his customary smirk. "Yes, a game. A Go game in fact. It is the only kind of game that we both have in common, no? Unless of course you're wondering about sports, but I'm sure that neither of us have a lot of free time for those kind of games… though I do play tennis once a while. Anyway, shall we?" Gesturing to the goban in front of them.

Hikaru hesitated slightly before nodding weakly as he gestured for Yongha to take the seat Kariudo had just vacated not too long ago. His mind was working furiously in order to comprehend Yongha's abnormal behavior. Well, at least it was abnormal to Hikaru. Although the cocky Korean he had became accustomed to was still there, there was something totally different about the way Yongha was treating him and acting. And for the sake of himself he could not figured what it was.

_'Sai… I take back my words. Do you still want to play with him? Apart from hoping that you'll wipe the goban with his face, I don't think I can cope with a game with him right now. He made me quite confuse and furious. And I won't be able to play my best in that condition… as you well know.'_

"Are you quite sure Hikaru? Not that I don't want to play, especially since this person is such a strong player… but you wanted revenge don't you? If I were to play now, I'll just take away that purpose. I do want to play, but the first honor is yours… and you better agree before I change my mind…"

To say that Hikaru was surprise is an understatement. True, he wanted revenge but now is not the time for it, nor was the place. And to have Sai, the Go freak that lived over a thousand years just to play Go, understanding that fact was… quite humbling. He smiled as he silently thanked Sai. He mentally felt Sai beamed before the fact that Sai had willingly gave up playing Go again hit him, whereby the sobbing started.

Hikaru could only sigh inaudibly before facing Yongha. He caught Yongha staring at him with a weird gleam in his eyes, and if he was not mistaken, there were something akin to possessiveness there too. Confused, Hikaru met Yongha's stare for stare, wondering about the Korean in front of him.

_'I must have imagined it. What was there for Ko Yongha to be possessive about? And how on earth am I to decline playing now that I had agreed to it?'_

Hikaru was aghast when his mind took that turn and he quickly racked his brain for a plausible excuse. No point asking Sai for help, the dumb ghost is still crouching on the ground crying his heart out for all he was worth. In the end Hikaru decided to just tell the Korean the truth that he does not want to play. They do say that honesty is the best policy. Hopefully, whoever invented that phrase was right.

Unknown to Hikaru, the time that he took to ransack his brain was used by Yongha to appraise him all over. Somehow, now that Yongha was presented with a real Hikaru face to face after those long months since the Hokuto tournament, he could not help but get more intrigued by the Japanese boy. The boy seemed more refined now, and much _much_ more desirable. Yongha frowned slightly. Desirable? Where had that come from? Yongha shrugged it off soon, forgoing that train of thought. It is not likely he will be able to find an answer for that. Answers to questions regarding Hikaru had not been forthcoming for it to be any different now. All he knows is that he had this indescribable yearning for the boy in front of him. Besides, desirable seemed to describe Hikaru pretty well.

Yongha raised his eyes to Hikaru's, searching for the look that had captivated him and had him thinking relentlessly about since the Hokuto Cup. To his disappointment, it was not there. The hot and cold look that had Yongha referring to Hikaru only all the time was not there. Although… there were slight panic, resentment and resignation in those eyes. Unable to comprehend the strange mixture of emotions in those eyes, Yongha waited patiently for Hikaru to speak while he, once again, take his own sweet time devouring the delectable boy in front of him.

Yongha's patience was soon rewarded as a closed look entered Hikaru eyes as Hikaru focused on him. To his surprise, Hikaru gave him a bow which he did not raised up from as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Yongha-san. I knew that I had agreed to have a game with you but right now I'm sorry to say that I do not wish to play. Please forgive and excuse me. We can have the game another day."

To say Yongha was unhappy would be an understatement. He knew for certain that Hikaru had played four games before-hand, but tiredness is definitely not a factor in his statement. Hikaru live for Go as he does, so basically Hikaru is telling him straight off that he does not want to have a game with him at all. Well… maybe not at all, he did mention another day… but that thought does not pacify him at all. Suddenly his resentment for the purple-haired idiot and Touya Akira raised up a few notches.

Barely stopping himself from growling out a 'why', he controlled his anger enough to answer tersely. "It is all right. I understand. But I'll be holding you on your word, Shindou. We must have a game before I leave Tokyo."

Rising up from his bow, Shindou gave Yongha a cool but amused smile as a resemblance of the very look Yongha was searching for came into his eyes. "Yes, of course Yongha-san. As a matter of fact, I'll be looking forward to it."

Seeing the look that Yongha was searching for in Hikaru's eyes had all of Yongha's anger and resentment draining away. It does not matter to him now that he did not get to play a game with Hikaru. It was just a ruse to get Hikaru show him the look. The look that he associate only with Shindou Hikaru. The look of fire and ice coupled together, burning brightly and yet freezing. The look where passion and coldness coexisted together. Though it was only a shadow of the one he was shown during the Hokuto Cup, it was entrancing all the same. And it had Yongha wanting to see more of it.

Shaking his head slightly before it get even more poetic, Yongha gave Hikaru a smile. A genuine smile that had shocked the younger boy enough for him to gave Yongha a look of pure astonishment before shaping his face into a cool mask again. Seemingly at lost for words, Hikaru remained where he was, watching Yongha warily like a hawk, confusion still in his eyes.

Yongha was more than content to remain where they were, but knew that sooner or later Hikaru will start asking him questions, more likely than not questions about him. Questions that he was not about answer, he was not ready for it yet and most likely has no answers to. Already he believed he had the boy confused by his current behavior. He guessed that Hikaru had more or less expected the arrogant, cocky and rude Korean to appear, insulting him and Shuusaku, not one that seemed almost civilize and smiling genuinely at him.

Yongha itched to laugh, knowing that he definitely have Hikaru's attention now. Hikaru will be hard pressed not to try and figure out the puzzle Yongha had presented. Although, sobering slightly, Yongha realized that this was not the kind of attention he wanted from the boy. If truth to be told, since the night where, thanks to Suyon, he had finally admitted to himself that he was obsessed with Hikaru, he came no closer to finding out an answer for his obsession.

How had the younger boy managed to entrance him so he had not known. Maybe it was because of those eyes, or the grueling game that they both had. All the same, Hikaru had him captivated and bound, unable to release himself from the cage he had unknowingly wandered into. A cage, he believed wryly, built by himself.

Suddenly a shrill sound broke out between them, shocking both out of their reverie. Knowing that his cell phone does not make such sound, Yongha stared at Hikaru expectantly. He watched, amused, as Hikaru stared at his bag confusedly for a moment before recognition set in and quickly grabbed his bag to hunt for his cell phone. Needless to say, he was breathless when he finally found his cell phone and answered it.

"Hello? Hikaru desu.

Waya?!

Sorry, sorry! I've forgotten that I have a cell phone.

Yes, of course I remember! Geez, give me some credit for heaven sake.

Well, it's not exactly my fault to forget my phone. I hardly use it enough to remember its presence anyway…

You people are the ones who insisted that I get the phone! I wasn't quite in agreement if you care to remember. So don't come blaming me for forgetting it.

What?! You no longer want McDonald for lunch?

Sushi?! You're planning to build a hole in my wallet aren't you? Besides, ramen is so much better.

All right, all right! It was my fault to forget yesterday. I'm sorry. Please forgive me… happy?

What?! Twelve thirty?! You expect me to get to the station by twelve thirty? I have… what? No way am I able to reach there in just twenty minutes. How do you expect me to? Fly?

All right, all right! I'm coming now. Bye."

Hikaru hit the end button and stared at his cell phone accusingly as if it was the bane of all his problems. Yongha suspected that Hikaru had quite forgotten his presence just then and cleared his throat slightly. His suspicion was proved right when upon hearing the noise, Hikaru whirled around to stare at him bewilderingly. Just as suddenly, Hikaru's eyes widen comically before he automatically bowed apologetically again.

"I'm sorry, Yongha-san."

Yongha could only stare at the younger boy in an amused sort of surprise before asking Hikaru. "What for?"

Startled, Hikaru looked up looking quite flustered. "Eh? For-for… I'm not quite so sure myself…" Mumbling to himself, Hikaru wondered why he said sorry to the Korean in the first place.

Sai, who was startled out of his sobbing session by the shrill ringing of Hikaru's cell phone and fascination with the gadget, was half listening in on Hikaru's conversation. Looking up from staring at the cell phone still resting within Hikaru's hands, he said to Hikaru.

"How about for talking to that little box and ignoring him?"

_'Huh? What was that, Sai?'_

"Well, you were looking for a reason for your apology isn't it?"

_'Oh… right.'_

"Yes, yes. That's it. Sorry for answering the phone without excusing myself, Yongha-san. It was quite rude of me."

Yongha could only smiled in amusement as he waved away Hikaru's pathetic attempts at reasoning out an apology.

"You know, Shindou, I believe this is the first time I have ever seen you so… flustered. I have seen you in anger, hatred, a cold mask endorsing your face… even laughing. But this is definitely a first. If it wasn't for the fact that you are sitting right opposite me, I wouldn't have believe that you are capable of such emotion. You do strike me as a person full of confidence."

"Sometimes confidence is but a mask that people must don, Yongha-san, as it is with so many other emotions. Besides you do not know me well enough to make such an assumption."

"Indeed. Now I find myself eager to tear down those masks you claimed to wear, Shindou. You are quite a fascinating creature and I want to find out more about you."

Hikaru did not answer as his cheek reddened. He did put himself up for that one. Suddenly, or rather thankfully, he remembered Waya's threat. Waya had threaten to seriously make a dent worthy of the deepest lake there is in the world on Hikaru's wallet if he did not turn up at the LRT station by twelve thirty. He quickly stood up and bowed again at Yongha, grimacing as he made his apology.

"I'm sorry, Yongha-san. I really need to go now; otherwise there'll be dire bills to pay... literally. I suppose we'll see each other again. We still have that promised game."

Yongha also stood up when Hikaru bowed, knowing from Hikaru's one-sided conversation on the phone that he was commanded to another place. Not that he was exactly pleased about it, to have his time with Hikaru cut short. But what would a person to do when Hikaru already had made prior engagements?

"No, it's all right. I guess I have caught you at the wrong time after all. I supposed it's good then we did not start a game. I wouldn't like to have a game cut short."

"Ah-Yes, I suppose you are right. Once again, I'm sorry. I… I'll see you around then. Goodbye."

Hikaru turned immediately heading toward the door when a slim hand caught his arm. Surprised, he stared at the appendage before trailing it up to its owner. Yongha was once again smiling gently but absently at him and seemed almost unsure, which was quite absurd really.

"Yongha-san?" Catching Yongha's attention, Hikaru looked pointedly at Yongha's hand still holding on to him. Catching Hikaru's silent meaning, Yongha quickly removed the offending appendage and smiled at him.

"I'm sorry for that. I was just wondering if… well, if I could have your number."

More surprised than anything else, Hikaru could only stare at him for a moment before answering while Sai was looking back and forth between the two of them.

"My number? You mean my mobile number?"

"Yes, I do believe I meant your mobile number Shindou."

"But-but… why?"

"Why? (Scrunching up his face in thought) Well, it will be much easier to find you for a match that way."

"I-I believe you are right about that…" Hikaru paused, silently appraising the elder male in front of him before making a quick decision. "All right, hold on."

Walking towards the counter, Hikaru gave the receptionist a charming smile as he asked for a piece of paper and pen. Quietly but evasively answering the curious receptionist's questions, Hikaru quickly wrote down his mobile number. He may forget about his phone, but he will never forget a number, even though it happened to be the number of his forgotten phone.

Smiling again at the receptionist as he returned the pen with a thank you, Hikaru walked back towards Yongha. Hikaru's steps faltered as he neared Yongha. Staring at the piece of paper with his number on it before directing his eyes to Yongha, he took a moment before handing the piece of paper over. Grimacing as if he was already regretting what he had just done, he quickly took his leave in a brisk walk, intending to forget all about the incident.

Yongha watched as Hikaru's silhouette disappeared around the corner. Still staring off in space, he smiled softly in reminiscence of their short but interesting encounter. Looking down, he saw Hikaru's surprisingly elegant scrawl of his number. Taking out his mobile, he quickly keyed in Hikaru's number in case he ever lose the paper. This is not likely though, since he intend to keep the piece of paper for a long time to come, even though he could not justify his needs for such actions.

------------------------------

Caught in a brisk but agitated walk towards the station, Hikaru was silently cursing his _intelligence_. Sai was following behind him, getting more and more worried and wincing once in a while as vile curses and not so mentionable insults resounded in Hikaru's mind. Now there is the Hikaru he was quite used to. Too bad that this Hikaru seemed a bit more volatile. Sai winced as the torrent of curses grew more colorful.

Hikaru was still questioning his sanity and actions, giving his mobile number to Ko Yongha of all people. He knew most people labeled him as dense, but one had to be superbly thick if he did not realize that the Korean had something up his sleeve. Abruptly, Hikaru stopped, causing the ghost to almost bump into him. Why on earth then did he give his number to the redhead?

Mouth opened in a silent scream as Hikaru mentally scream as loud as he wanted, causing Sai to clapped his hands over his ears as Hikaru immediately set off again, this time in a much faster pace than earlier. He needs to burn off all these excess energy and frustrations. At the rate he was going, he definitely will reach the station much earlier than agreed twelve thirty.

Sai had said before that Hikaru had natural talents in Go, being able to pick up Go as fast as he does. Now, it seems that Hikaru had another natural talent. That is, if _stupidity_ can be considered as a talent.

Still caught in his almost run towards the station, he thought over the earlier events. He had expected the Korean to seek him out, that much Touya had told him. Touya had even told of the unusual interest that Yongha had seemed to gain for him, but Touya had not mentioned that the Korean had decided to be so friendly and nice all of a sudden. Hikaru groaned, realizing that that must have been what that had pull down some of his reserves enough to entertain the redhead as he did and even gave Yongha his number. It was a bit too shocking of a change from the arrogant and cocky bastard for Hikaru to be able to comprehend completely.

Without realizing it, Hikaru and Sai had reached the station. Hikaru looked around the station before shooting a glare towards his watch. Twelve thirty on the dot… so where are those friends of his? Seeing that he was still too agitated to remain where he was, he took up walking all over the station looking for his friends for almost ten minutes. Not that he was really searching; his violent mood had prevented that. Finally sick of walking aimlessly around, he took up stationary next to a pillar, leaning slightly against it, hoping to calm down some what.

Growling softly five minutes later, his mood not getting any better, Hikaru reached into his bag to grab his cell phone. Funny how his mind seemed to remember his cell phone when he was this agitated. Dialing Waya's number, he waited, impatiently, for his friend to pick up the phone.

Sai was standing to the side of Hikaru. Frankly speaking, this furious Hikaru frightened him. He had never seen Hikaru this angry before. And to have him giving death glares to everyone _and_ everything was and still is unnerving. He gave a relief sigh as he saw Waya, Isumi and a few other friends of Hikaru's walking out of the train towards the exit. Then he became worried as he wondered if he ought to tell Hikaru that… better not. He may be dead, but that doesn't stop Hikaru from giving him hell enough that he wished he was truly dead.

Then again, Sai did not have to worry, for Hikaru had already spotted his friends. Ending the call, he saw Waya reaching into his pockets to produce out his cell phone and proceeds to stare at it blankly. Stopping dead in his tracks, he looked around the station before finally spotting Hikaru standing next to a pillar, glowering at him. Slightly freaked out by Hikaru's glare, Waya could only stand where he was, backing slightly as Isumi and the rest turned to him, realizing that Waya was no longer walking with them.

"Hey, Waya. What's wrong? Why did you stopped?"

Waya only shook his head as he pointed to Hikaru, who was wearing an even fiercer scowl possible on his face. Dread quickly filled the group of five when all of them caught sight of Hikaru.

"Er… did any one of you happen to royally pissed off Hikaru?" asked Saeki tentatively.

"Not me!" answered Honda quickly. Nase and Isumi also shook their heads negatively in answer, all of them still unable to take their eyes off Hikaru, who was still glowering at them like there were no tomorrow. Suddenly all of them turned to Waya.

"Waya, what exactly did you say to Hikaru earlier?" Isumi asked quickly, fearing the worse.

"Before that, lets get to Hikaru now, before he really commits murder or something. He looks more than ready to kill something… or someone." Nase commented, shooting a look to Waya and shuddering slightly to emphasize her words. All four boys looked at Nase with the same horrified expressions on their faces before running to where Hikaru was still standing.

Hikaru glared at all of them as they stood before him, smiling nervously.

"Well, took you people long enough. Look at the time! I have been waiting here for the last half an hour!"

Waya grimaced as he knew this time it was him who was in hot soup. In fact, all of them were staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to fork out an explanation or an excuse. Not that he believed that Hikaru had waited for half an hour, for it is a bit too exaggerating since he had only made the call to Hikaru not half an hour ago. Still… better to apologize than to pick up a fight.

"Sorry Hikaru. But well, the train just arrived…" explained Waya lamely.

"Yes, I can see that. What I cannot see is the need to be here before your delightful train arrived." Answered Hikaru with enough sarcasm to fill the whole station.

Waya sweat-dropped as he tried to come up with another lame excuse. "Well, ar… truthfully, I did not quite, er… expected you to be this… um, early?"

"That's beside the point! You asked me to appear here at twelve thirty! Twelve thirty! And you dare tell me that you did not expect me to reach this early?!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I really didn't expect you to be this early!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Hikaru nearly shouted out.

"For heaven's sake, for as long as we know you, you were never on time! I just thought by giving you an earlier time, you might reached here about the same time as us or a bit later! At the very least we do not have to wait hours for you!"

"Oh?! And who gave you such a brilliant idea, pray tell. And you even threatened to dent my wallet if I am even a minute late! Your words are quite contradicting!"

"I said I'm sorry already! Oh great God in heaven, what the hell is wrong with you today?!"

Nase, Isumi, Honda and Saeki, not to forget Sai, were watching the argument back and forth, as if it was an engaging tennis game as it continued on. Finally Isumi, the ever present peace-keeper, decided to step in and stop the argument.

"Hey, hey, cool it. Lets forget about it already. I'm sure both of you are hungry."

Twin glares was shot to Isumi's face for all his good intentions. Finally, Hikaru nodded grudgingly as Waya muttered another apology sulkily as prompted by Nase. Hikaru was also being reprimanded by Sai for picking out an argument with Waya, especially since it was Yongha and himself he was mad at. Realizing his fault though not too happy that Sai had to point it out for him, Hikaru reached out to Waya's shoulders as all of them was about to walk off. Startled, Waya turned to Hikaru with a small confused scowl.

"I'm sorry Waya. I'm just not in a good mood today. Sorry for shouting at you."

Surprised at the unexpectedly gesture and apology, Waya grinned happily, all past grievances forgiven and forgotten.

"Nah, it's all right. Besides, it's my fault too for expecting the expected. How am I supposed to know you'll prove me wrong and reached on time for once? You have to agree after all, you are never on time. It is a good lesson for me never to expect the expected from Shindou Hikaru again."

Hikaru scowled darkly, knowing better than to reply to that. The rest of them was smiling amusedly or in Saeki's case, sniggering loudly. Hikaru's punctuality is a legend after all.

"So where are we heading?" asked Hikaru, changing the topic altogether.

"Just around that corner over there. My friends told me that it's a newly establish sushi restaurant that served good sushi. Since it just opened, I thought maybe we could try it." Answered Nase, pointing aimlessly somewhere in front of her.

"All right! Lead the way, Nase! I'm hungry!" said the jubilant Waya, grinning widely. "Remember Shindou, you're paying."

"I know, I know." Hikaru grumbled, sticking his hands into his pants pocket and followed his friends. He smiled as he listened to his friends' idle chit chat, preferring to keep quiet. Sai, walking beside Hikaru was fascinated by the nonsensical banter between Hikaru's friends but he kept sneaking looks every now and then to Hikaru, his violent burst of emotions still not forgotten. It was not until they reached the restaurant and entered it that Sai was finally satisfied that Hikaru seemed to be back to normal. Or as normal as he could expect Hikaru could be. Hikaru is too different now to be compared with the old Hikaru.

As soon as they were seated, Honda turned to Hikaru, asking about his match today.

"My game? It was great, a real good game with an equally good opponent." Hikaru replied, as he slowly sipped his green tea with his eyes closed.

"Is that so?" murmured Saeki, at the same time thinking that not many Go players could manage to get Hikaru's attention like that. "Did you win by the way?"

"Hmm? Of course." Hikaru replied, before giving all of them a rare happy smile. "Hamano is a good player, but I'm better. I won all four games we played."

Perplexed and surprised looks greeted him at the end of his sentence. Not caring, Hikaru shrugged them off as he reached out to grab a sushi off the belt and promptly wolfed it down.

"Hmmm… delicious. Aren't you people having any?" Asked Hikaru deliberately as he grabbed another few sushi.

Waya, being the loudest and most out-spoken among them, finally voiced out the question no doubt running in their mind. "What do you mean by four games? Everyone knows that you can only have one game. And stop eating so fast, leave some for us you baka."

Hikaru grinned wolfishly at Waya as he deliberately swallowed another sushi in front of him. "Bing Bong. Hamano and I played another three games together before we parted."

Saeki stared at Hikaru as he delicately dipped his sushi into the soy sauce. "That's strange. You normally don't play against your opponent after a match, unless it happens to be one of us. Even then we had a hard time getting you for a rematch."

"Saeki is right, Shindou. Why the sudden change?" Isumi asked, curious about the younger boy's action.

Hikaru shrugged lightly, taking another sip of his green tea. "Is that so? I don't know. I guess it's because…" Hikaru trailed off, finger tapping his chin lightly. Finally Hikaru shrugged again as he pick up another sushi to eat. "Hamano is cute."

Nase swiveled to Hikaru, astonishment etching her pretty features as Hikaru watched fascinated as the rest of the guys choked on their sushi and tea. Hikaru could see Sai slapping a hand on his forehead, shaking his head in mock defeat. As the four boys slowly get their breath back, coughing slightly, Nase parroted Hikaru.

"Cute?"

Hikaru nodded his head, smiling mysteriously as he replied. "Yes, cute. He's older than me but act like a child. And he has this long beautiful purple hair… which reminded me of someone very dear to me. And did I mention that he's good?"

Nase could only nod hesitantly as Waya turned to Hikaru. "Must you use words such as cute to describe him? You nearly kill us. I don't think any of us fancy dying on sushi, as good as it is. And it's not a proper answer. We asked why you had a rematch with him, not about him."

"Hamano. His name is Hamano." Hikaru said, irritation coloring his words slightly. "I just feel like it that's all. The rematch I mean."

"That's it? Just because you feel like it?" Waya said incredulously.

"Yes. Is there _something_ wrong with that?" Came the sarcastic reply.

"Hell, yeah! You changed your normal routine just because you felt like it?"

"Yes! I'm not a robot unfortunately. I do like changes once in a while!" answered Hikaru heatedly, gearing up for another loud disagreement with Waya. But before Waya could come back with a retort, Nase rapped not so lightly on Waya' head as Honda butted in, determined not to let the two get into another argument.

"Eh, Shindou, are you two friends? I mean, like Saeki said, you hardly gives any of your opponents any time of the day." Honda asked the first thing that came into his mind.

Glaring at Waya, Hikaru answered. "Originally no, but now yes." Turning away from Waya, he gave his friends a small shrug. "He's fun to befriend."

Saeki, who was watching Hikaru shrewdly all the while, popped in a question that surprised Hikaru. "Shindou, why were you so stemmed up earlier? From what you had just told us, it could have not been from your match or opponent, since you won and you seemed to really like your opponent, weird as it is. Waya may be a bit too much, but that's usual for him… and you (which earned Saeki a glare from Hikaru and a loud protest from Waya), but even Waya's talents couldn't make you so mad. At least not as mad as you were. Am I right, Isumi?"

Isumi, who had been quiet all the while, nodded slowly in response to Saeki's query. "Come to think of it… I have never seen you that angry before, Shindou. Ever since you became pro, you had been sort of… detached. To see you that angry, especially since… there's nothing bothering you, is there?"

Hikaru was slightly surprised when Saeki mentioned his observations. And when Isumi continued on from Saeki, Hikaru sort of knew what was in Isumi's mind. After all, Isumi was the only one who saw Hikaru cried as he finally let go of Sai, finally letting go his childish ideals and outlooks on life. Isumi was the only one who saw Hikaru slowly reined in his emotions to become a person that is cool and collected, a mask falling over his face. For him to blow up like that is extremely rare, and he is willing to bet that Sai thinks so too. Hikaru stared into his tea before taking a sip, knowing full well that his friends were waiting for an answer with bated breath.

After five long minutes that felt like hours to every one of them, Waya was ready to throttle an answer out of Hikaru when he finally answered.

"There nothing bothering me, Isumi, everyone. I just had a lot of things on my mind, that's all. Sorry if I happened to worry you." Hikaru said, putting on a bashful expression on his face as he rubbed the back of his head convincingly, hoping that they will buy his act.

Hikaru sighed mentally as after a few skeptical looks, everyone seemed to take his words at face value as they went back to sushi and pointless chit chat that he was deigned not to participate. That is, everyone except Sai and Isumi. Sai, who obviously knew what was bothering him but knew better than to ask for explanations now. And Isumi was still shooting worried looks at Hikaru. Hikaru mentally sighed again. It is just his luck that the-calm-understanding-but-overly-concern-Isumi have an inkling about his darkest and most painful time.

Catching Isumi's eyes, he gave the elder man a comforting smile, hoping that it will slightly console him. It was just so like Isumi to be so concern about him. Truthfully, he was not ready to talk about his source of irritation and anger. Nope, no way is he going to talk about the cocky Korean. Well, at least the Korean was cocky when he first set eyes on him… but that idiot Korean was, God forbid, _friendly _today.

Hikaru groaned inaudibly as his mind back-tracked back to Ko Yongha again before he quickly shoved all thoughts regarding a certain redhead away. He will figure out that Korean when he had the leisure to, not now when he was supposed to enjoy his time with his friends. Out of the corner of his eyes he noticed Isumi started shooting him worried looks again. Maybe he should make some effort to talk. Hikaru grimaced as soon as the thought entered his mind. He smilingly shook his head as he pondered about himself. He couldn't recall when he started to view idle chit chat as stupid and a waste of time. Maybe Touya is not that good an influence on him after all.

After a while, Hikaru excused himself to the bathroom whereby Waya told him not to run away as he still to pay for the food. Hikaru ignored Waya as stepped out of the booth. All of them paused momentary as they watched Hikaru walked away. Contrary to Hikaru's relief, all of them were still worried about him even though Isumi was the only one outwardly showing it. Shrugging off, Waya wolfed down another sushi.

"No point asking. He won't tell even if we threaten him. Especially since he obviously don't want to talk about it." Waya said in response to the unasked questions.

Nase, Isumi, Honda and Saeki sighed, knowing full well that Waya had just spoken the understatement of the year. All of them knew that the Hikaru they all knew now is tighter than a clam when it comes to his privacy. Like it was discussed yesterday, none of them even knew about Hikaru's normal stuff, like the reasons behind his choice of subjects, let alone something that could make Hikaru boiled up and exploded not unlike a volcano.

"I know… we all know. Unfortunately we are still worried. I just hope he knows that he can turn to us anytime." Replied Isumi dejectedly.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he does." Nase told Isumi quietly as Honda echoed her thoughts.

"Yeah. Even if he doesn't turn to us, he'll come to you at least. After all you are the natural worrier in the group, Isumi." Saeki said teasingly, deciding to put in his two cents worth and lighten up the atmosphere.

"Eh?!" Isumi replied intelligently, a slight blush gracing his milky white features, causing the whole table to crack up with mirth, all earlier tension dissipated.

Soon all talk turned into flat-out teasing of one another, laughter and denies echoing around them. That was how Hikaru found them when he came back to the table. Smiling indulgingly at his friends' antics, he sat down as the banter continued on, this time focusing on him. Not giving any reaction except an occasionally raised eyebrow and an indulgent smile, they all soon lost interest in him and turned back to Honda and Isumi, the two most unfortunate but interesting subjects. Those two are so easily susceptible to any teasing they dished out that they were made ready victims, causing the two to deny almost everything fervently and blushing all the time.

After a while even Hikaru started laughing, which had Isumi and Honda almost pouting at him. Taking pity on them, Hikaru asked if they had finally satiated their stomach before declaring that they are taking up the restaurant's place and not to forgetting his money. Taking that as their cue, Honda and Isumi quickly stood up and walked towards the cashier, escaping their friends' tender mercy. Laughing, Hikaru and the rest followed them while Nase pouted prettily at him.

"Mou, Shindou, you help them escape." Nase grumbled cheerfully, stepping in stride with Hikaru.

Grinning at Nase, Hikaru winked at her. "I know. Besides, you can always continue on. We are going to Waya's place right? They are stuck with us for a long time."

"Trust you, Shindou, to think things that way." Saeki shot at him wryly.

"Well, that's Shindou Hikaru for you. A wolf in sheep's skin." Waya put in flippantly, grinning at Hikaru.

Hikaru pretended not to hear him as he fished out his wallet to pay. Behind him, he could clearly hear the torture of Honda and Isumi began all over again. Chuckling softly, he led his friends out of the restaurant. Minus the puzzling event regarding a certain redhead, his day had been pretty enjoyable and delightful. Cocking his head slightly, he could see Sai enjoying himself immensely as well. Grinning happily, he closed his eyes briefly as a slight breeze ruffled his hair.

_'What a glorious day…'_

_-owari-_

_-------------------------------------------_

Here is another chapter for your enjoyment, but please do not the next chapter to be anytime soon. My schoolwork just doubled and finals around the corner. I will try to update, but knowing myself… it will take some time. So please bear with me ya? Thanks!!!

And a big thank you to all my reviewers for their support and er… encouragements. Hehe. To answer some questions:

Hamano Kariudo is there because… (wink wink) just wait and see. He will have a role but a minor one. And no, he's not the reincarnation of Sai… how to be when the ghost of Sai is still around? But I did spent a lot of time on him… well, like I said, he is cute :)

Akira and Yongha in love with Hikaru? Hmm… I did not realize I was heading that direction. Let me clarify some things. Akira hardly has any close friends his age and Hikaru is the closest thing he had that can be considered a true friend. If you are in Akira's shoes, you will want to keep things that way, which means Yongha is a threat. As for Yongha, he is obsessed with Hikaru. Believe me, when you are obsessed with someone, you will do almost anything just to get their attention.

I made Hikaru more grown up because I believe when a person went through as much as Hikaru had; their perspective in life will change. Mostly it will become more cynical and jaded. I have seen a lot of that kind of situation, so I can't help but view Hikaru as more grown up. Besides, he has the influence of Akira to pick up from.

And now for some comments… **N** – Please don't eat monkey… although it is considered a delicacy to eat live monkey's brain (which is cruel as you need the monkey alive as you chopped open its head and eat the brain), but pity the poor monkey. **izen** – as much as I would loved to bask in your words, but you are praising too much to say my writing is addictive. I believe I am long-winded. Sigh… getting old fast. But thanks anyway. It is great to hear that.

Sorry, **N**, if I offended you… but I can't help it. Your review definitely brightens my day. And again, thanks to all my reviewers. I'm just too lazy to thanks all of you wonderful people one by one, so I hoped a group thank you is enough. Until next chapter.

Ja!


	10. Chapter 10: What A Day

**Title: **A game of lost and found

**Warnings : **I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!!

**Summary: **Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

**Foreword: **I got good news for those who had been complaining about my horrendous writing. I am proud to introduce all of you to a very special lady who had offered to beta my fic for me. Please put your hands together for… Ishkabod!! I know I complained about how troublesome it is to get it beta'd, but since Ishkabod so kindly offered, I was happy for it… though I'll probably take a longer time to upload my chapters now. Besides… she showed me how horrible my English is… sigh.

Anyway, here the brand new chapter!! All thanks to Ishkabod who edited my chapter for me. So enjoy!!

**----------------------------------------**

**Chapter 10: What ****A**** Day…**

Akira's day was bad.

No, wait, bad seemed too mild a word to describe Akira's day. It is more accurate if someone were to say…

Akira's day started bad and became worse as the day wore on. In fact it probably would have been better if he had just stayed in his room and barricaded the door.

It all started last-night, which thanks to his normal habit of becoming fully absorbed in whatever he was doing, Ko Yongha managed to gain entrance into his room and royally piss him off. Not only that, Yongha had unsettled and confused him so badly that he was left pacing his room most of the night, shooting his infamous death glares at everything in his room. It was a miracle that nothing withered or melted. Therefore, when morning came around, sleep was something that sounded and felt foreign. In addition, he knew Ko Yongha noticed it as well, since he could feel Yongha's amused eyes on him. And then Yongha had to go and _officially_ inform everyone about his _noble_ intentions of playing Go at the Institute today, all the while giving Akira a very shrewd look, knowing full well that Akira understood perfectly _why_ the Korean was heading to the Institute today. Especially since the idiot _had,_ the courtesy to inform him the night before that he knew Shindou would be at the Institute today. It was all he could do not to get up abruptly and walk, or rather stomp out of the dining hall… or yell at the Korean.

In the end, he had gone to school looking like something the cat dragged in. Grayish circles circled with bags under his eyes, a throbbing head, black clouds hanging over him and a bad temper that had him snapping at almost everyone who crossed his path.

Akira sighed heavily as he leaned his forehead on the table. Currently he was hiding out in the library, away from prying eyes and curious people. Normally he never paid any mind to the attention he usually received, but today was special. Why? Because the ever impeccable and perfect Touya Akira was the picture of pathetic ness today. It was so bad that all sort of rumours were circling throughout the entire school. Some said that he had love problems, family problems… even one about a Go problem he could not solve. Pretty normal rumours, thankfully. There was even one rumour about him and Shindou, though he was not too sure about the contents of that particular rumour. He kind of expected it, since he and Shindou were well-known rivals. However, the most recent… and probably the worst and most ridiculous rumour was that someone else had taken over Touya Akira's body.

How stupid and pathetic can the people around here get? What do they think this is? X-Files? Or maybe some variety shows entertainment or something? The people who started that particular rumour must have watched too many shows and read too many mangas.

Akira groaned softly, since it was pointless getting mad at those people and the amounting rumours that were still spreading around. It was going to last several days anyway. Despite the fact that Go was all he thought about, he knows how most systems work… rumours especially. Contrary to most - probably all - peoples thinking in this school, he was human and surely, humans are permitted to make mistakes once in a while. Akira gritted his teeth in frustration and anger as he remembered yet again the cause of all his troubles today.

Ko Yongha.

Just hearing the name got Akira all agitated again. Cheerfully informing everyone _he_ wanted to go to the Institute today to find an opponent… hah! What an amazing actor that pathetic excuse for a human.

Not only did the Korean cause Akira's sleepless night, he managed to make Akira so agitated that he made so many stupid mistakes in his homework that even Akira was astounded. In addition, the mistakes and fumbles continued throughout the whole day, making all his teachers and classmates worried about him. Not only that, he could not pay attention in class, which had him ignoring his teachers. In addition, the frustrations and agitations stayed with him throughout the whole day and only his upbringing and strong will kept him in class and not walking out of the school… and most likely straight to the Go Institute. Akira sighed, at least now, since he was alone, no one would be worrying or bugging him about his so-called problem.

And what did Yongha mean when he said that Shindou's fighting spirit was Akira's? That particular spirit of Shindou's had always been there, especially for Go. Though it is true that Shindou played Go with him more than anybody else. Could the idiotic Korean have meant that? Moreover, what was it about lending Shindou to him? Shindou is not a thing, and clearly does not belong to Akira. Come to think of it… what the heck was he talking about, losing something precious to him?

Not only that… why was Ko Yongha so interested in Shindou? Shindou was truly some an enigma and prodigy, everyone recognized that, but what was it that held _the_ Ko Yongha's interest that he would come back to Japan seeking Shindou out? There was something fishy about that Korean. Very, very suspicious. All that thinking quickly made his throbbing head worse and Akira launched into a silent cursing fit.

Stopping abruptly, Akira frowned. What happened to his manners… cursing someone like that. Though, if he would to think of it carefully, Ko Yongha deserved it. No, wait, he must pull himself together. After all, the idiot was just trying to bait him or something using Shindou. Nothing to worry about… except for the fact that Ko Yongha definitely knew which and what buttons to push. Damn that Korean.

Sitting up straight, he glared at the unfortunate chair opposite him, plotting revenge against the Korean (which he would never carry out, good manners kept him from doing just that) and worrying about Shindou. Shindou may be a brilliant Go player, but as a person… he was, and still is, extremely dense. Well, maybe not as dense as Shindou used to be, but still much denser than most people were and that alone had kept Akira worrying about him the whole day.

Not that Akira did not trust Shindou to know what he was doing, but when it comes to that particular, not to mention, egoistical Korean, Shindou's actions had always been unpredictable, even more so when it comes to a certain Korean. As proven during the Hokuto Cup tournament and the insane drive to improve faster that Shindou had right after the competition. But most of all, he trusted Ko Yongha as far as he could throw a mountain.

Akira closed his eyes tightly as his heart clenched painfully. Shindou Hikaru was his dear friend… his only true friend. The rest of the people that he could call friends were all his father's students, like Ogata-san and Ashiwara-san. Although Ashiwara-san was the closest to his age, he was still several years older than Akira.

Shindou… was not only his friend, he was his rival, his inspiration and encouragement, all rolled into one. And Shindou was also the one who taught him that it was alright to show his feelings at times and not hide them behind a mask like he usually does. Shindou… in a way taught him how to live, how to be a teenager.

'_On the other hand I do believe that some of my mannerisms and attitudes have rubbed off on Shindou.'_ Akira frowned at the thought and then shrugged it off. Shindou does need to learn some restraint and courtesy, so it may be a good thing after all. At least he hoped that those were the only things Shindou had picked up from him.

Akira smiled at the thought of Shindou. That boy was truly one in a million. Shindou had such contrasting and shifting characters that one had to often wonder which was the real Shindou Hikaru. If anyone were to ask Akira, he would most likely smile and tell them to figure it out themselves. For the facades of Shindou were endless, and the number people who knew most of those facades were probably less than the fingers on one hand. In fact, Akira could only think of three people who fitted that category; Fujisaki Akari, him and, unexpectedly, Isumi Shinichiro. Even then Akira could safely say that neither of them knew the whole complete set of Shindou Hikaru. Even Shindou's mother had long since given up on figuring out her only child.

He wondered if he would be seeing Shindou later today at the salon. He hoped so, for not only he would like to know how Shindou played his match today, he wanted to know if the Korean did anything to him. Akira also wanted to know if the Korean mentioned anything about his intentions towards Shindou. In fact, Akira was burning with curiosity (and resentment) with anything that had to do with Ko Yongha and Shindou.

Akira sighed, no point wondering about it now, since that would only make his already mounting headache worse. Thankfully, his last period was a free one and the library was practically empty during his last period. Sneaking a glance at his watch, he groaned more loudly this time, earning himself some shushing from some nearby table. There still has half an hour to go before the final bell rang which meant he still had to hide for another half an hour or so from any remotely recognizable human beings in this school.

Akira gritted his teeth in frustration. If only he was not Touya Akira who abided by all the rules set in the world, or rather in this situation, the school, or he swore by heaven or hell that he would just get up and walk out of this building right this instant. Akira sighed again, this time in desperate agony and resignation.

'_I hate myself.'_

-------------------------------------------------

Hikaru placed a stone on the goban, following Sai's lead. He was letting Sai play against Saeki and, a small coolly amused smile played on his lips, Sai was winning.

Not that he expected any less, it was Sai after all. Nevertheless, to see Sai barely restraining himself from excitement and pure happiness was quite satisfying. Not to mention the slightly frustrated and bewildered look on Saeki's face was highly entertaining as well. Hikaru normally would only see that kind of look on Saeki's face whenever he was facing Ashiwara-san from Touya Koyo's group. To be able to produce that particular look from Saeki that was only reserved for Ashiwara-san was… to say the least, fascinating and gratifying.

Waya only shook his head, frowning as he watched the match between Saeki and Hikaru. "Ne, Shindou, your playing… isn't it more Shuusaku than normal?"

Hikaru only smiled mysteriously as Sai looked up in surprise at Waya's statement. "Saa… who knows?"

Not surprisingly, a large tick began to form on Waya's forehead. "What kind of answer is that?! Who knows??!! Well, I do!"

Saeki glance up from the goban momentary to glance at Waya before concluding that he was a lost case as he turned his full attention back to the goban. Elsewhere in the room, Isumi, Nase, Honda, Ochi Kosuke and Fukui Yuta, who had just joined them, looked up with dread and resignation. Hikaru only looked more amused at Waya's antics, for his earlier black mood had dissipated into nothingness.

Deciding to aggravate Waya more, Hikaru answered flippantly. "Shindou Hikaru's brand of unique answers, of course. Why? Have you not heard of them?"

The large tick on Waya's forehead, if it was possible, grew larger. "…Why... you…"

Isumi again decided to butt in before Waya started screaming at Hikaru, deciding that having Waya mad and sulking at him was much better than hearing another shouting match or, worse, neighbours screaming bloody murder at them. He'd rather try to pacify a childish Waya than a bunch of pissed-off and harassed neighbours, especially since he was always the one stuck with that particular job.

"Hey, hey Shindou. Guess what? Kadowaki-san said he is coming over later."

Isumi's smile faltered slightly as he saw Waya's murderous glare swivel to stare pointedly at him.

"Oh really? That'll be interesting." Smirked Hikaru, watching Waya and Isumi with unconcealed amusement. Isumi gave Hikaru a long suffering and inconsolable look which Hikaru only raised an eyebrow in answer to, as if telling Isumi to deal with the consequences himself.

One had to wonder just what was it that Hikaru found so interesting, the fact that Kadowaki, whom he had not met since they played a game together during Isumi's Beginner Dan Series (at least that was what Hikaru's and Kadowaki's vague replies implied, it was just too confusing to think about it anymore), or the fact that Waya looked more than ready to kill Isumi. Isumi was slowly but discretely backing away from Waya. Even Sai was more interested with the events happening in around him than the game he was having with Saeki.

A loud knock from the front door shattered the atmosphere in the room. Relief flooded Isumi's face as he quickly got up and rushed towards the door, telling everyone hurriedly that he will get the door. Waya looked more pissed at the loss of his second 'prey'.

'_Saved by the knock.'_ Was the statement that floated through everyone's mind.

As if suddenly remembering the cause of his frustrations, Waya stared murderously at Hikaru again, which had Hikaru smiling oh, so innocently at him, dividing his attention between the game with Saeki and Waya. Placing another stone on the goban (prompted by Sai of course), Hikaru grinned widely at Waya. Seeing the wicked grin on Hikaru's face, dread was quickly circling around the room again.

"Is there something wrong, Waya?"

The tick came back full-force on Waya's forehead. He took a moment before he finally answered Hikaru. "I swear, one day, you're going to be the death of me, Shindou Hikaru… You idiot!! You know what is wrong! I mean you just pissed me off five minutes ago!! As a matter of fact, you're pissing me off right now!"

"Oh?" exclaimed Hikaru in a gleefully innocent voice. "I'm sorry, I did not realize I was making you mad. I just thought it was your natural response."

"Arghhh!!!" screamed Waya loudly. By now all of them, including Saeki and Sai, had backed away from the two of them, abandoning their respective games.

"Yo! You kids are at it again? Man, I guess kids will be kids." An amused sort of voice came floating in from the doorway.

"Kadowaki-san!" admonished Isumi, aghast at Kadowaki's bravado in down-talking a royally pissed-off Waya.

Kadowaki only smiled at Isumi placidly as he took his time removing his jacket.

"It's none of your business, old man. And stop calling us kids!" Waya told Kadowaki, annoyed at the new interruption.

"Like you so nicely put it, I'm the only adult here. So I need to keep you little kids in check." Discrete coughing could be heard from Saeki, staring pointedly at Kadowaki, Isumi and himself. "Ah, well Isumi-kun and Saeki-kun could be considered adults as well, I guess… but they are still younger than me, so they are kids as well. And kids like you should listen to adults like me."

"Oh yeah? Says who?" Waya retorted heatedly while Isumi and Saeki sweat-dropped at Kadowaki's statement about them.

"Kami-sama, obviously."

"Huh? Kami-sama?"

"Yup! According to Kami-sama, all those younger than me are to be considered kids, no exceptions."

At that ridiculous statement from Kadowaki, all of Waya anger flowed out, most probably through his hanging mouth. He could not imagine someone calling Saeki and, especially Isumi, kids. Young men, yes, but kids? And what was that statement about people younger than him?! Giggling could be heard coming from somewhere in the room as Isumi and Saeki shook their heads forlornly. Hikaru could be seen red faced trying to hold his laughter back.

"Yo, Shindou-kun. Long time no see. How have you been doing?"

Trust Kadowaki to ignore the commotion he had just caused in the room. Hikaru smiled wryly as Kadowaki started up a conversation with him and proceed to check out the unfinished game between Saeki and 'Hikaru'. As if an all clear signal was given, everyone started creeping back out from his or her hiding places. Their volatile friend seemed to have lost all his steam, and it did not seem that it would be anytime soon for Waya to start up again. In fact Fukui was poking Waya to get some sort of reaction. Especially since Kadowaki was there. Kadowaki had a… _unique_ way of calming Waya down… if you could call it calming down.

"Ne, Hikaru, this person looks extremely familiar… who is he?"

'_Oh? You can't remember him? That's odd. You usually remember the people you played Go with before.'_

"Go? Oh!! Him! You let me play against him just before you took your pro examination, right? Is he a pro now too?"

'_Yup!__ He became pro the same time as Isumi, a year after me. In fact he only lost to Isumi during the examination.'_

"Hey Shindou! Hurry up. Stop day-dreaming, it's your move." Demanded Saeki while giving Hikaru's head a smack.

"Ouch… that's was totally uncalled for, Saeki!"

Hikaru scowled at Saeki as he silently urged Sai to make a move. Studying the goban quietly, Hikaru began to track back all the moves made by them until now. Suddenly Hikaru's eye widen as he saw Saeki's latest move. Hikaru's lips curved into a small smile.

"That was a good move by Saeki-kun. That trap is avoidable, but the follow up will be tough." Sai, who already noticed the move made by Saeki earlier, complimented him softly.

'_Ah yes. A __tobi__komi__, I did not expect Saeki to make a move like that. Your territory there will be separated, but if you are thinking as I am, you'll save a big chunk of your territory, rendering his attack useless. Man, Saeki must be really pissed to play like this. Your move, Sai, lets see if we are thinking alike. '_

"All right… 13-4."

Hikaru and Sai did not talk as the game continued, each deducing the game themselves. A small frown crossed Hikaru's features as the game proceeded on. The game lasted for another ten minutes before Saeki was overpowered and resigned. While Saeki was looking dejected, mumbling something about being beaten by his kouhai again, Sai was sighing with happiness as he usually does after a game. Hikaru was still busy perusing the goban in front of him.

'_Ne__, Sai. I'm thinking… if you were to play there in answer to Saeki's earlier challenge, wouldn't the game end faster?'_

"Huh?" Sai practically flew over to Hikaru, staring at the goban and where Hikaru was indicating. "There?"

"Oh! You're right Hikaru! Now that would be an interesting move… it's just so like you Hikaru, to notice such unconventional moves."

'_A__..ah__? Is that so?'_ Hikaru, silently laughing and clearing up the board, thought about Sai's statement. _'I suppose you are right. Still, the result would remain the same, so I guess either way was fine.'_

"Yup! I had lived over a thousand years after all, so if I say your moves are unconventional, it is unconventional. But you know what… you still can't beat me." Sai teased Hikaru in a sing-song voice.

Hikaru nearly spilled the stones he was holding in his hands as Sai said that. Eyebrows twitching, he thought to Sai. _'Just you wait, Sai. I get you back for that. Besides, don't you know us youngsters have to give old geezers like you some face and respect?'_

Sai, upon hearing 'old geezers', had tears forming in his puppy-eyes. Soon he was glomping Hikaru from the back, which Hikaru gave no indication that he even bothered or noticed it. "Wahh…Hikaruuu, you meanie! I'm not old…"

'_Said the thousand years old ghost.'_

"Wah!! Hikaruu!!!"

Hikaru smirked, knowing full-well that he managed to get back at Sai for the comment earlier. He almost whistled as he gently swept the last of the stones into its container. Kadowaki, who had earlier walked off to let the two players concentrate on their game, came back to Hikaru's side.

"Shindou-kun, lets play a game. It has been along time since we last played each other."

Hikaru was startled when Kadowaki called out to him, asking for a game. "Kadowaki-san?"

Not only was Hikaru surprised, the rest of the occupants in the room was surprised as well. Surprised, shocked and intrigued. Most of them finally figured out (thanks to Kadowaki) that Hikaru and Kadowaki had played a game just before the pro examination about two years back and in the end Kadowaki lost, and lost badly to Hikaru, which led to Kadowaki postponing his entrance to the examination for a year so he could come back stronger. A year ago, they played their second game, which again Hikaru won, but left Kadowaki saying that the Hikaru in the second game was significantly weaker than the Hikaru in the first game. Of course, the most confusing fact was that Hikaru agreed whole-heartedly with Kadowaki.

Hikaru was still staring at Kadowaki with a mixture of surprise and confusion, before a small but detached smile crossed his features. "How long had it been since our last game, Kadowaki-san?"

"Hmm… it was a year or more ago. Since then you have been busy, winning pro games, getting into round-robins and the Hokuto Cup. By the way, that was a great game you played there…"

"Ah… Thank you, but I still lost." Hikaru answered wryly, bowing slightly to show appreciation of Kadowaki's words. Looking up in time to see Kadowaki's absentminded nod, a wry smile came upon Hikaru's lips. Hikaru more or less knew what was bothering Kadowaki. Realizing but not particularly caring that the whole room was listening to them; he called out to Kadowaki, remembering the conversation they had right after their second game.

"… Kadowaki-san, what do you really think of that game?"

"Huh?… Ah! Sorry! As I said, it was a great game. Anyway, would you like to play a game with me?"

Hikaru smiled softly, closing his eyes gracefully as he turned facing goban. "You're changing the subject, Kadowaki-san. But sure, let's have a game… and then," snapping his eyes open with a sharp gaze, "maybe you'll tell me what's on your mind, Kadowaki-san."

Most who were in the room, that seemed to be forgotten or invisible to both Kadowaki and Hikaru, either cringed or stared at Hikaru in apprehension. That look in his eyes was often only reserved for official Go matches. To see it now was like looking at a declaration of battle. Even Kadowaki was taken back by the intensity in Hikaru's eyes. Smiling challengingly, he took his place opposite of Hikaru at the goban as he picked up his stones, black, and motioned for Hikaru to nigiri.

"Is this another troublesome game, Shindou-kun?" Kadowaki asked as he swept the black stones, which he was to use, back into the container. Waiting for Hikaru's reply, he made no move to begin the game.

"……" Closing his eyes, Hikaru felt the comforting aura of Sai besides him. Smiling, he opened his eyes and faced Kadowaki. "Maybe, we'll know once we play and end the game. Please."

Kadowaki smiled as he watched Hikaru's actions, noting the lacked of the sadness and regrets that accompanied the last game they played. Picking up a stone, he held between his fingers. "All right then, let's begin. Please."

_Pa-chi_

_Pa-chi_

_Pa-chi_

By now all of the occupants of the room had crowded around Hikaru and Kadowaki, watching the game between them intently. It had always been a mystery to them about the two games between Kadowaki and Hikaru, for neither of them seemed to be inclined to talk or even show those two games. All of them were lost in their own thoughts as they watched the game, revelling in the intensity created by the two players. Even Sai was puzzled by the intensity in their game, but he did not dare to distract Hikaru from the game. For some reason, the game seemed important to Hikaru.

The game ended in two nerve-wrecking hours, with Hikaru as the winner as Kadowaki resigned. As Hikaru and Kadowaki discussed their game briefly, the rest of them were still speechless. They had known all the while that Hikaru was a strong player, a strong but eccentric player, but to witness a game like that… was beyond most of their imagination. It was almost like watching the Hokuto game between Hikaru and Ko-Yongha all over again. The brilliantness of the game… was incomprehensible.

Ochi's mind was working furiously, thinking about the game and the past events that focused on Kadowaki and Hikaru. He had finally admitted that Hikaru was strong, stronger than he could ever believe, but what was it that made countless strong players like Ogata 10-dan, Kuwabara Honinbou, Touya Akira, even Touya Koyo interested in him? Was it because of his ever-growing strength that seemed limitless? But if he remembered correctly, after Kadowaki's and Hikaru's second game, Kadowaki seemed displeased and disappointed for some reason, saying something about the Insei Shindou was better and stronger than the Shindou Pro.

Sneaking a sideway glance at Kadowaki, Ochi was surprised to see that Kadowaki was looking at the game and Shindou with some sort of reverence. Furthermore, for someone who had not only lost but was completely dominated, Kadowaki seemed satisfied and… with no other words to describe it, _happy_, but at the same time, he seemed puzzled about something. Now that was peculiar… Ochi immediately shook his head. _'Take my own advice. Worrying about Shindou will get me nowhere… except maybe more puzzles, roadblocks and one hell of a headache.'_

"Ah! It's already this late! I need to go. Sorry everyone." Hikaru yelled out as he quickly picked up his bag and jacket, hurrying towards the door.

"What? So soon?" called out Nase in disappointment. "But it's been such a long time since I last saw you… couldn't you stay longer? Besides, you promised me a game… you agreed to play Shidougo with me."

"Sorry Nase-chan." Hikaru turned to Nase and winked at her, grinning all the while. "I have a date to keep. Bye!!" With that, Hikaru rushed out of the apartment, leaving a room-full of stunned people.

"… A date?" Echoed Nase, blinking owlishly at the closed door. Waya turned to Isumi and asked, "He has a girlfriend?" Isumi only shrugged his shoulders in reply, "I don't know everything about him, you know."

"Oh well…" Kadowaki got up from his seat and walked towards the door. "I should take my leave as well. See ya, kids."

Silence ensued in the room with the departure of both Hikaru and Kadowaki, especially right after the amazing game that those two played. Plus the fact that they were still left in the dark about the relationship between the two of them and the curious conversation between them.

"Wah!!!" the loud yell from Waya broke everyone out of their reverie, turning their heads as one to Waya. "Honda! We forgot to corner Hikaru!"

"Huh? Corner?" Honda quickly searched his memories, wondering what was Waya yelling about when he finally remembered. "Oh! You meant about making Hikaru tell us the reasons for him attending school again and his choices of electives."

"Of course! What else could I be talking about?" Shooting the closed door an irritated look, Waya fumed silently. "In fact, we shall make him tell us about his and Kadowaki-san's relationships as well."

Isumi and Saeki only shook their heads in defeat as they and the rest of the gang went about their own business, leaving poor Honda to cool a fuming Waya down.

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Akira looked up to the clock hung just above Ichikawa at the counter, noting that it was close to six o'clock in the evening. He sighed as he slowly cleared the goban.

'_Shindou is not coming today, I suppose. I guess I should be heading home now. No point hanging around the salon.' _Akira then grimaced, remembering one reason why he would rather hang around the salon.

A reason called Ko Yongha.

His feet felt heavy as he walked towards the counter, changing pleasantries with Ichikawa automatically as he retrieved his bag from her. Bidding her farewell, he walked out of the salon, heading home. He was not looking forward to tonight. Heaven knows what else Ko Yongha would be taunting him with today. And being unable to hear from Shindou exactly what went on between the two of them… Ko Yongha would have plenty to taunt Akira with.

'_Today is definitely not my day…'_

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Hikaru slowly took his time walking down the stairways of Waya's apartment. True that he had a date to keep. Akari called him yesterday evening while he was on the way home, asking him to accompany her for the new movie that was showing. He had forgotten the title, seeing that he had no interest in it at all, but since Akari was practically pouting on the phone, he had agreed to go. Besides, Sai would enjoy the movie, since they rarely go to any movies, and hadn't gone to one since he came back.

He was supposed to meet Akari in an hour, which means he could take a leisurely walk to the agreed destination. As long as he was not late, everything was fine. Then again, he always seemed to end up late one way or another…

"Yo Shindou-kun."

At the familiar voice, Hikaru turned around, giving Kadowaki a greeting smile. "Kadowaki-san. Leaving as well?"

"Ah yes. I only came to keep an eye on you kids."

Hikaru laughed at Kadowaki's comment, knowing that Kadowaki only said it for fun since he wasn't too much older than the rest of them. Kadowaki smiled, walking beside Hikaru. After a moment of silence, Hikaru turned towards Kadowaki.

"… You have yet to answer my question, about my game with Ko Yongha."

"That again?"

"Hmm… was it bad? I made such a big fuss so I could be first string just to lose to _him_ in the end…"

"No… it wasn't. I did mean it when I said it was a great game. It showed me your strength and inspired me to work harder… even though you lost to the Korean."

"… And?"

Kadowaki suddenly burst out laughing. "According to those kids back there, you're supposed to be quite dense, not so astute, you know." Hikaru only smiled in response, waiting for Kadowaki to stop laughing. "Ah… well, if you must know, I just thought that your previous strength as an Insei was noticeable there."

"Oh…" Hikaru had not expected such an answer from Kadowaki, choosing instead to store the information away to dissect later. After a moment of silence, Hikaru spoke up again. "So, what do you think of the game we just had?"

"… You do like asking hard questions." Kadowaki stated dryly, paying no heed to the question. Hikaru smiled again in reply, waiting for Kadowaki to answer. He was sure that Kadowaki would answer him sooner or later.

"… You played spectacularly, as usual. Although I still can't beat you, no matter how much stronger I am getting. That calmness in you… is really unshakeable, is it not? Again, you gained my respect and reverence." Kadowaki finally replied, staring up at the fast darkening sky.

Hikaru's face turned serious, as he thought about Kadowaki's words. "Kadowaki-san. Compared to the me you played today and the me during the first and second game, tell me what you really think."

Shocked, Kadowaki's eyes widen at Hikaru, as the soft voice but words spoken with conviction reached him. Sai, who was walking quietly beside them, halted as he heard Hikaru's words.

'_First and second game?__ The first game… I was the one playing… second game… Hikaru played a game with this guy before?' _Sai looked up, staring at the back of Hikaru, _'Hikaru… Hikaru is asking Kadowaki about the difference in our strength?' _Staring at Kadowaki, Sai finally realized why was Hikaru asking Kadowaki instead of others._ 'Kadowaki… was the only person who had played against the both of us, without even an inkling of Sai… or the thoughts of a connection between me and Hikaru.'_

Shocked beyond belief, Sai could only stare at Hikaru. Both Hikaru and Kadowaki had stopped walking altogether, standing side by side as Kadowaki struggled with an answer. Finally, Kadowaki found his tongue and answered Hikaru.

"The Shindou I played today is very much stronger than the one I played on our second game…"

Staring determinedly at Kadowaki, Hikaru asked, "And the first time?"

"… The first Shindou… I… how do you say this? I supposed I could say that the Shindou I was playing earlier is strong, as strong as the first Shindou, but at the same time… not as strong. Somehow, it was a different strength."

"… huh?" Stupefied, Hikaru only gaped dumbly at Kadowaki. "Different? What do you mean?"

"Haha, I'm not so sure myself either. You are strong, no doubt about that… but… you have yet to gain back the level you had when you were an Insei… though I could say you are definitely closer to it now, a lot closer…" Kadowaki trailed off as they started walking again, lost in his own musing. Hikaru kept up with Kadowaki's pace, thinking about his words and wondering how true they were.

"… But it seemed like a different Shindou that was playing during the second game…" Kadowaki finally mumbled out absentmindedly, seemingly to have forgotten Hikaru's presence beside him. Hikaru's and Sai's eyes widen at the statement, disbelief in their faces. As if suddenly realizing Hikaru's presence, Kadowaki started sputtering apologies out.

"……" Hikaru smiled haltingly, not knowing what to make of Kadowaki words.

"I'm sorry. Saying something like that… sorry, it was rude of me." Still unable to forget his words, Kadowaki was still apologizing.

"I… you… Excuse me, but could you please explain what you meant by that." Hikaru was bowing towards Kadowaki, tensing as he waited for Kadowaki's reply. Kadowaki was looking at Hikaru with bewilderment.

"… I… the Shindou-kun I was playing today, the pattern, was similar to the Shindou-kun that was still an Insei. The second game between us, it was like that time your strength was still immature, or had become immature… I don't know. I mean… there were the similarities between all three games, but it just seemed like Shindou-kun was totally a different person during our second game."

"I… I see." Head downcast, Hikaru picked up the pace again, with Sai and Kadowaki following him. "…… difference?"

"Sorry, what?" Straining his ears, Kadowaki tried to catch Hikaru's subdued voice.

"Between the first game and the last. how much difference?" Kadowaki gazed silently at Hikaru, understanding that Hikaru was not asking about the differences in strength.

"… Not much, hardly noticeable in fact… just that I was able to notice it because I held those two games with you, and today's game as well, in esteem."

"Then… then what is different?"

"… It was more to the type of moves you used, I guess."

"… I see…"

At that Hikaru dropped all interest in talking, which suited Kadowaki as well since the two of them were lost in their own thoughts. Soon they reached a crossroad where Hikaru bade Kadowaki farewell, with Kadowaki smiling apologetically at him as he waved Hikaru off. Hikaru only shook his head slightly, smiling softly at Kadowaki as he headed in the opposite direction. Sai followed quietly behind him.

'_Types of moves, eh?' _Hikaru thought silently, thinking over Kadowaki's words. _'__Ne__, Sai… he must have meant those unconventional moves you said I like to used, huh?'_

"………"

Noticing the lack of noise, Hikaru turned behind slightly to look at Sai. Sai's face showed that he was deep in thought, even though he was following Hikaru pace for pace. _'Sai?'_

Sai finally looked at Hikaru. "Hikaru, you played with Kadowaki-san after I disappeared? Tell me about it?"

'_Aa__… all right. Remember when I let you play with him for the first time? Well, I thought then that I'd never see him again, remember? It seemed that he wanted to take the exam that very year, same time as me, but because I, or rather, you, totally crushed him he postponed his entrance for a year, determined to come back stronger.'_

Hikaru mused over his own words, thinking back to the time when he first met Kadowaki. Looking back at Sai, he saw that Sai was also deep in thought… and was patiently waiting for him to continue. Watching Sai silently, he finally understood why Sai was asking that question. He too was puzzling over Kadowaki's words that the two of them were similar… and most probably wanted to know more about the reasons Hikaru had the second game with him. Sai, knowing him so well, probably guessed that the second game held a lot of significance.

'_Sai, you want to know why I had the second game with Kadowaki-san, __right?__' _Without waiting for an answer, Hikaru continued. _'As I said, I did not expect to meet him again, but he ended up passing the pro examination and he met up with me, coincidently at __Isumi's__ beginner Dan series games. He… was asking me about my three failures during the examination, against Fukui, __Oshima__ and Honda, and my beginner Dan series game against Touya Sensei, and my… consecutives streaks of forfeits. He… he was in awe of your strength, Sai. Thinking it was my strength, he was not satisfied with my record. He told me that it was because of that game he… he gained respect and reverence for me. He was unhappy with my losses, telling me that he had straightforward expectations for me and that my level was not like that. The thing was__ it wasn't me in that game; it was you. __And I...__ I suppose I felt like I had wronged him, letting him think of me like that when it was you who played… when it was your strength. __So…__ I asked him if he would like a game with me.'_

Hikaru took a deep breath, smiling up at the sky bitterly. Sai could only gaze at Hikaru sorrowfully, knowing that this was another of Hikaru's regrets.

"Hikaru…" Sai called out, feeling helpless as Hikaru kept silent.

Exhaling the breath that he was holding, Hikaru turned to Sai and smiled widely. _'It's all right. Everything is fine now. Anyway, as I was saying, I asked him for a game which he agreed to, even though I knew he was going to compare the two of us. I guess, in a way, I wanted him to. __Partly for him, seeing that my actions had caused him to doubt… and partly, for me.__ As you probably deduced, I dominated him… but when I questioned him further, he said that I was stronger as an __Insei__ than I was as a pro. Obviously! It was you who played that game after all. Anyway, I told him that I agreed with him totally. I think that helped in creating my enigma's image…'_

Sai smiled. He understood what Hikaru was trying to say. He had caused Hikaru a lot of problems, since he kept demanding to play even when their strength was so noticeably different. Obviously people will be puzzled over Hikaru's contrasting strength. But for Kadowaki to say those things… Hikaru's Go had grown.

Oh, he knew Hikaru's Go had grown, since he had played him many times now that he was back. In fact, most of the time he was struggling to win against Hikaru and most of those games go into yose to determine a winner. Sai suddenly realized that it was not the fact that he hadn't played for a while and was rusty, as he had once claimed when Hikaru was teasing him, it was simply that Hikaru that had gotten a lot stronger, and was still growing.

Sai suddenly stopped following Hikaru, eyes widening. As if suddenly finding the answer that had been eluding him all this while, Sai stayed rooted at his spot, his fan pressed against his lips in shock. Quickly running his mind through all the games he had played with Hikaru and the games that he watched Hikaru play, he quickly realized one important thing. The very thing that Kadowaki was talking about.

Hikaru's Go was almost like his Go. His… and Shuusaku's.

Quickly running after the fast disappearing Hikaru, Sai's mind was in a whirlwind, filled with questions.

Since when had Hikaru started to play like him? No, wait… Hikaru had sometimes used his moves, he had learned Go from Sai after all.

But that does not explain why was Hikaru's Go was turning out to be like his Go. It was natural to pick up moves from the one who taught you and played with you often…. But to end up playing exactly like said person… that usually never happened. Kadowaki was saying that the first game, which was against Sai and the game today, against Hikaru, was almost alike. The same strength, level… and style. And Waya… Waya only expressed surprise that 'Hikaru' was playing more Shuusaku than normal. Which meant that even Waya could not distinguish the fact that it was another person's Go. Then that must mean…!

"Sai" Hikaru called out softly, surprising Sai by talking out loud to him in public. "What Kadowaki-san was saying… does he mean that I… I played like you?"

Surprised that Hikaru was thinking along the same lines as him, Sai stopped in his tracks, staring at Hikaru in wonderment. Hikaru, realizing the missing figure of Sai, turned around and faced him. "Sai?"

"I think… that is exactly what he meant, Hikaru. And I… think so too."

"Oh…" Hikaru then smiled widely, but Sai, knowing Hikaru so well could see that there was a tinge of confusion and sadness in that smile.

"You were reaching for me all these while, weren't you? And when I was gone… tell me Hikaru, what really happened after I was gone." Sorrow was etched deep in Sai's eyes, causing Hikaru to look away from Sai, unable to face such a gaze.

"When you were gone, all I could think about was you. I stopped playing, not even daring to touch the goban or stones, stopped getting news from the Go world… I even broke all my contacts that had to do with Go. I supposed you could even say I practically stopped living. All just so I could have you back. I had thought that this way, you would come back… that it was my fault that you left… but you remained gone… Isumi broke me out of my grief by forcing me to play, but one move, one particular move was what truly put me back on the path of Go. That move… was one of those moves you loved so much. It was like, if I continued to play Go, your Go, I could see you… I could feel you. Somehow, even as it was painful playing the game that binds us together, it eased my heartbreak."

Hikaru's heart felt so much lighter as he finally said out what he had kept hidden from Sai all this while. True, he had not wanted Sai to know, but at the same time, it was not fair to hide such things from Sai. Besides, Sai was bounded to know sooner or later. Sneaking a look at Sai, he saw the expected sad look on Sai's face. Looking away, he stared up towards the sky, hoping to find a star somewhere and quietly waited for Sai to finally say something, knowing that he had more explanations to do.

"But for you to fully immerse yourself like this…?"

"I… I had no other way to be closer to you, than this. I had not expected…" Unexpectedly, Hikaru chuckled bitterly, turning around and continued walking, knowing that Sai would follow. "I suppose you could thank Ko Yongha for that. By insulting Shuusaku, he made my blood boil. I wanted to defeat him using Shuusaku's moves. And since you and Shuusaku are one and the same… well, I guess you know what I am trying to say. I was happy, immersing myself in both your Go and Shuusaku's Go. It made me feel closer to you. And I suppose, unconsciously, my Go had become yours."

This time Hikaru smiled bitterly, as his eyes shined with irony. "Ironic, isn't it. I said I wanted to beat Ko Yongha using my own Go, but my Go is Shuusaku's and Sai's Go."

Stepping in line with Hikaru, Sai called out to Hikaru and gave him a comforting and understanding smile. "Your Go is truly unique, Hikaru, for it is not only Shuusaku's and my Go, it is also Shindou Hikaru's Go. Shuusaku's Go was the old Go, 100 years ago. Sai's Go was a modernized Shuusaku's Go. Hikaru's Go was learned from both Shuusaku and Sai, and growing with his own type of Go, a mixture of those three. It was more like you are improving on our Go, Hikaru."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Thank you, Sai…"

"By the way, how did you manage to become so like Shuusaku? Me, I could understand, I was (in a way) your Sensei after all… but Shuusaku?"

"I studied the kifu back at the Institute. They have a lot of kifu there, from over hundreds of years. Shuusaku's kifu is one of the many kept there. And then Touya Sensei somehow found out about my fascination with Shuusaku… maybe he noticed something? Anyway, he gave me a book with the complete set of Shuusaku's kifu, or at least that's what the book said; only you would know the truth. It seemed that Touya Sensei got it on one of his Korea trips. Though… I'm still not sure why Touya Sensei got me that book…"

"… Really??!!" Hearing the delight in Sai's tone, Hikaru smiled happily in response.

"Yes. I'll show it to you when we get back."

"Wah!! Arigato Hikaru!!"

Those with the ability to see ghost would see an exceptionally happy ghost glomping and dancing around a boy with bleached bangs at intervals as the said boy seemed to yell at the ghost to quit it and hurry up before someone get mad at him.

_-owari-_

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Here are some Japanese translations:-

Kami-sama - God

Tobi komi – a move where the player makes a jump into the opponent's territory, attempting to either separate or crush the said territory

Kouhai - underclassman

Shidougo – a game of Go where one id teaching the other player at the same time using the moves instead of words

Yose – end of the game where the winner is decided by the counting of territory

Alright, that should cover those words I used that most might not understand. And again… I supposed I'm late at updating again, aren't I? Oh well… I always am late one way or another… so, erm… sorry? Hehe.

Yay!! Like I said earlier, my story is being beta. Though I shouldn't be so happy about it, since it proved that my English is horrible… but still I'm happy.Like I said, I'm weird.

Actually I was hoping to be able to write about Akira's and Yongha's head-on confrontation in this chapter… but somehow I got carried away writing about Hikaru. Somehow I wanted to show the similarities between Hikaru's and Sai's Go. You'll see what I meant later on. Anyway, this is a very much longer chapter than I am used to writing.

Before I forget again, I would like to thanks those who reviewed my earlier chapter(s). Again thanks to those who claimed how addictive my writing is, horrible or not. I just hoped that I am not going to bore any of you with my long-winded writing.

Hikaru seemed pretty grown up, huh? I was trying to go for something of that effect, but I think I might have overdone it. In my humble opinion, after the disappearance of Sai, Hikaru (undoubtedly) was overcome by grief, and as far as I know and seen, people like that are often either sad all the time or became detached. And when someone is detached, he will seemed pretty grown up, but he is actually holding a lot of grief and pain in himself, letting it out only when something affected him strongly. It is like the person only does things not for himself, but for the sake of other people or for the sake of continuing living. It's not like he doesn't want to live, but it's more like he can't find a reason for living but he knew he had to. I hope I'm making some sort of sense here…

Yaoi, shonen-ai… what-so-ever, I'm not sure. I'm just following my flow of the story. I do not know if I'm ever going to pair anyone up or not. But I hope you enjoy my story either way.

And again… no, English is not my first language. Even though in my country English is officially the second language, I could say English is either my third or fourth language. It is the same for more than 50 of the population here. D

Enough babbling. Thanks for reading my brand new chapter and please, please review. Arigato!!

Oh… and happy waiting for the next chapter. Hehe.


	11. Chapter 11: Forgiveness

**Title: **A game of lost and found

**Warnings : **I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!

**Summary: **Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

My thanks to Iskabod who edited my story for me. So please readers, an applause for the wonderful lady…

Okay! Enough nonsense from me. Enjoy the new chapter!

**----------------------------------------**

**Chapter 11: Forgiveness**

Yongha lay on his bed, an arm behind his head as he stared at his cell phone in front of him. More accurately, he was staring at a certain phonebook entry in his cell phone. A certain entry with the name Shindou Hikaru.

Yongha sighed as his eyelids fluttered, gently closing as he tried to lose himself in nothingness. It had been a few days since he last saw Shindou.

Days spent doing nothing except wandering around town alone or with his sempai. Days of playing Go in salons and the Tokyo Go institute. Days often used to antagonize Touya Akira. Of course that stopped when he found out that Shindou met Touya yesterday at Touya-sensei's salon.

Yongha's hand tightened on his cell phone as a dark scowl came to his earlier bland features. Suppressing the urge to throw his phone against the wall, he lowered his arm and let the cell phone drop onto the bed. Even though he had been at the institute from time to time, he had not managed to even catch a glimpse of Shindou. And somehow he could find neither the courage nor the incentive to call Shindou.

His now free arm used to drape across his eyes, Yongha thought about Shindou. He could not understand his fascination… his obsession with Shindou Hikaru. Sure, Shindou is a strong, eccentric player. Furthermore he is extremely passionate about Go. True, all professional Go players and insei and of the like are passionate about the game. But for Shindou, it seemed like Go was his very life and death. For someone as young as Shindou, that is extremely rare.

Rare, but not unheard of. There were many others whose skills could turn one's head. Shindou was not the only one. So why this obsession with him?

Why had he wormed his way into coming Japan the second he had heard his sempai was planning to go Japan with Touya-sensei? Why had he thought of nothing else but to seek out Shindou by any means possible? Why had he hated the fact that Touya Akira was in more contact with Shindou than him?

Why is he still thinking about Shindou even though he had met him?

And why, even though he had Shindou's number and a promise for a game, he still hesitates in contacting him?

Gritting his teeth in anger, Yongha vaulted up in a sudden motion. Straightening up from his bed, he ransacked his cupboard before pulling out a dark green pullover and donned it. Tying his hair into a ponytail, he walked out of his room in the Touya's residence, grabbing his wallet and cell phone at the same time. His sempai had long since gone out with Touya-sensei to some temple or another. At least Seon-kuen is enjoying this trip more than he is.

True, he had known of his obsession with Shindou Hikaru since the Hokuto Cup… but his obsession is starting to get more and more ridiculous. Getting obsessed over a Go player was something of a norm for the Korean, which usually dies out after a while or so. But to get jealous and angry over petty things concerning his obsession, this was definitely a first.

With Shindou Hikaru, it was like he could not get enough of the young Japanese no matter what. Then again, Shindou Hikaru was his first obsession that had hated him.

Maybe… maybe if they had a game, this obsession would go away. Then he would not have that awful feeling of jealousy, eating him from inside, driving him crazy. Yes, he finally admitted it was jealousy. It is absurd really, to associate jealousy with Ko Yongha, but that was exactly what he was feeling.

But how and why would he feel jealousy? After all, Shindou is nothing but an exceptional Go player to him. Although he taunted Touya mercilessly, he does not have any claims on Shindou, and he seriously doubted he ever would. All he wanted right now from the blond banged pro is recognition. Not as a Go player though, for Shindou must have recognized him as a Go player… he did win against Shindou in the Hokuto Cup after all.

No, the kind of recognition he wanted from Shindou was not just as a Go player. He wants Shindou to recognize him as a person as well.

"Ah, Yongha-kun."

Startled, Yongha stopped in his tracks and turned his head to the direction of the voice. Upon spotting the owner of the voice, Yongha's lips turned into a genuine smile.

"Akiko-san. Wonderful afternoon."

"Ah, yes. Are you going out?"

Yongha shrugged lightly. He was not exactly sure what he was about to do, he had just wanted to get out of the room then. It was getting too stuffy.

"I suppose so. After all this is not my own country as I'm just a visitor here so I might as well enjoy it as while I can."

Akira's mother smiled sweetly at Yongha's reply and told him to be careful. Yongha smiled and nodded in reply as he walked toward the front door. As a thought entered his mind, Yongha turned back to his hostess.

"Akiko-san, I think I will have pick up something to eat while I'm out so please don't trouble yourself. And could you please inform my sempai as well? That is if he returns and asks for me. He is quite a worry-wart."

Getting a confirmation in reply, Yongha nodded his head in thanks as he walked out of the house. Not knowing where to go, he simply picked a direction and walked down that road. He did not pay attention to his destination nor direction, lost as he is in his own mind with the thoughts of Shindou and his own peculiar feelings.

A number of blind turns and aimless walking later, Yongha found himself in a totaly unfamiliar district. _'Oh, great, now I'm lost in both the physical and mental sense. Where am I? Better yet, how the hell did I get here?'_

Blinking and scowling at the unfamiliar location, Yongha finally decided to make the most of it and wander around. If worse comes to worse, he can always call for help, right? Mood slightly lighter, Yongha was quickly engrossed with the picturesque area. In fact he seemed to have wandered into a district that was mostly into traditional stuff. The perfect place for souvenire shopping.

At least it was to him. He absolutely abhorred buying silly trinkets like the majority of the people usually do as souvenirs. The things here are much more meaningful and definitely a lot more useful as souvenirs. He decided to start buying those souvenirs now instead of leaving it to the last minute, he took his time strolling along the streets.

A few packages later, his ever sharp eyesight found a shop that was even more pleasing to him; a shop specializing in Go materials. Entering the shop, he quickly became lost in what he would call heaven on earth.

----------------------------------

Sai was skipping ahead of Hikaru, looking into shop after shop. Once a while he would stop and hurried Hikaru, whining all the while about the slow pace Hikaru was keeping.

Hikaru only smile in response to Sai's whining; he was too used to it. Besides he was feeling quite mellow… no possible way would Sai be able to annoy him.

Hikaru had decided this morning that today will be spent together with Sai only. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he remembered that he and Sai often do nothing but play Go together. In fact, they had hardly spent time doing anything else but things that were related to Go and studies. Hikaru doubted that Sai had even seen half of Tokyo. So Hikaru had decided to remedy that today.

So that was how they had come to this particular district. It was not a particularly famous district, as most of the shops are specialized, therefore marking it as a place where only those who had certain needs will come. It was not exactly a place where most would do window-shopping, either.

"Hikaru, Hikaru! Look, look! A shop selling a lot of Go materials… there are books there too. It must be kifus! Can we go in? Please, please?"

Hikaru only chuckled at the overexcited, puppy-look that Sai had on his face before nodding his head in assent. As he watched Sai bounce into the shop, he remarked that the phrase of making your loved ones happy was self-satisfying was indeed true. Seeing Sai so happy gave him a warm feeling all over.

Hikaru chuckled again when he heard his name called out in a whining tone. Shaking his head wryly, he walked into the shop, eyes widening when he saw the amount of Go-related bits and pieces all over the place. It was a place that serious Go players like him and Sai would definitely go crazy over. He could not believe that he had not even heard of this shop before. As a matter of fact, he could not believe none of his acquaintances had never ever mentioned this shop before.

Scanning the room, he noticed that Sai was currently drooling over some articles about Go hanging on the wall. Reckoning that Sai will be kept busy for some time, he walked towards the kifus. Maybe he could find some Shuusaku's kifus there. This shop is authentic enough.

Totally immersed in scanning the title on the backbone of the books along the selves, Hikaru did not notice the young man standing just at the darkened corner of the shelves. Of course, Hikaru's concentration was shattered immediately when the person called out his name.

Yongha could not believed it when he saw Hikaru walking towards him, fingers trailing along the books lining on the shelves. After blinking several times only would he dare to believe that Hikaru was indeed in front of him and not a figment of his imaginations. Though it seemed that Hikaru had not realize his presence yet, seeing that he was so absorbed with the books in front of him.

Yongha watched as Hikaru's eyes narrowed with concentration as he studied the titles, once in a while taking out a book to flip through it, before putting it back in place. All this was done with gentle fingers, the same way Hikaru held his Go stones. The respect and reverence was there in his every move and touches.

Those actions seemed at odd with the person housing them. Gentle actions of one who knew the value and understand the significance of such things are not often found in the body of one as young as the boy in front of him. Captivated, Yongha could only watch as Hikaru continued his actions, eyes sometimes showing amusement and reverence, frowning every once a while which was replaced by a gentle smile each time as Hikaru slowly advanced towards him.

Finally realizing that he should at least say something, Yongha called out Hikaru's name softly, a genuine smile playing on his lips and shining through his eyes. Even so, Hikaru was startled upon hearing his voice. He watched, amused, as Hikaru's eyes widened when he turned to face him, before a hesitant and unsure smile came upon Hikaru's lips in answer to the smile on himself.

"Hello, fancy meeting you here."

"Yes, Yongha-san, indeed it is. Well, as they say, the world is small. How do you do?"

A wry smile replaced the smile on Yongha's lips. He wanted much more than this stilted atmosphere between them. He realized it was his fault, since he did insulted Shuusaku deliberately. He had wanted to stir up a bit of fire in the boy he had first saw glaring at him. And now he truly regrets his actions. Knowing that he could not do worse than this, Yongha decided to throw caution into the wind.

"Still so formal I see. Well, I can't really blame you I suppose…"

"… No?"

Yongha hummed an agreement. "After all I had done nothing but antagonize you when we first met. And I even put down Honinbou Shuusaku during the opening ceremony. It must have been a deep insult to you, especially since I heard you were somehow entwined with Shuusaku somehow or another. I even heard that you were a Shuusaku calligraphy expert."

For a moment, Hikaru's eyes flashed with anger and confusion. "Then why did you do it?"

"Sorry?"

"Why did you insult Shuusaku?"

"… the case with your reporter, it was a misunderstanding. It appeared that your reporter came a day earlier than the agreed date, therefore there were no proper translators available. Suyon, who was supposed to speak on our behalf, was not there as well. And I'm sure you noticed that I couldn't speak a single word of Japanese at all during that time. Therefore… I suppose you could call it a miscommunication."

"So I was told… but that was not exactly what I was asking about."

Yongha gave Hikaru a bittersweet smile. "You know, I actually admire and respect Shuusaku a lot. He was a remarkable player, one worthy of the title bestowed on him. He is one of the non-Korean Go players I respected most. What I did say was that the standard of most Japanese Go players had drop and it was such a shame since Japan had previously produced great figures such as Shuusaku. Don't you agree?"

When no forth-coming answer came from Hikaru, Yongha continued in a dry, self-mocking tone. "I'm sure that peace-maker Suyon told you that I said all those things during the opening ceremony to rile you up, and I have to admit it is true. When I first heard from Suyon what the incompetent reporter and translator managed to cook up, I cleared up everything with Suyon. At that time I couldn't care less, it was just a misunderstanding after all. But seeing you later on, glaring at me for all you're worth, it annoyed me. It was childish, now that I think of it, but it gave me some satisfaction to wipe that glare of your face."

Hikaru only looked more confuse, standing there listening to Yongha. Hearing those things from Suyon and Touya, he could accept it at face-value and yet not forgive Yongha, but to hear it from Yongha himself… Hikaru was torn. Somehow he wanted to believe Yongha, after all Yongha was here giving all but the word 'sorry'. Yongha watched silently as emotions warred inside Hikaru's eyes.

"Who is Shuusaku to you, Shindou?"

Yet again, startled by the Korean, Hikaru looked up at Yongha with disbelief.

"I know what I said was frowned upon by many, even angered some, but you seemed to take it personally. Furthermore all those things I heard from around... Why? Shuusaku must have meant something to you."

Hikaru could only stare at Yongha as he fumbled around for something to say.

"Hikaru…"

Hikaru blinked in surprise as he turned away from the Korean to see Sai standing behind him, giving him one of his rare melancholy smiles.

'_Sai…'_

"I heard most of everything, Hikaru. Are you still angry at him? True, what he did was immature, but it did indeed start with a misunderstanding, otherwise he wouldn't have known that Shuusaku… that _I_, was such important figure to you."

'_I…'_ turning sharply away from Sai, Hikaru stared into Yongha's eyes with a searching look, surprising the Korean slightly. _'I suppose you are right. But the fact that he insulted you remains.'_

"And he is more or less apologizing for it, otherwise he won't be here standing right in front of you, personally explaining his actions and is still standing there waiting for your response. And the most important thing of all, I'm back… isn't it?"

'_I know… but I guess I had held onto this... this anger for so long that I don't quite know how to let go.'_

"Hikaru… Don't hold such a grudge, Hikaru. Let it go. Focus instead on beating him in Go. Surely that is more important than holding on to your anger towards him, making him an enemy when it's clear he's not willing to?"

'_Is that what you really think? How could you be so sure that he is not willing to be an enemy? After all, he did start this whole fiasco.'_

"Isn't it so? Ever since he came back to Japan, had he once insulted you or Shuusaku? Had he once be anything but civil and polite to you? If anything, I think he is asking for a chance."

'_A chance?'_

"Yes, a chance. To start anew with no antagonism, no misunderstanding."

'_And you believe that he deserve a chance like that?'_

"Hikaru… everyone deserve a chance for everything and anything. Especially a person who is regretful of his past actions to be asking for a chance, don't you think so?"

Sighing, Hikaru finally gave Yongha a tentative smile, deciding to heed Sai's advice.

"Thank you, Yongha-san, for explaining everything to me. You are right, if it was not for the _miscommunication_, I wouldn't have glared at you, thus provoking you. The only reason I can give you is that to me, you had not only insulted a great figure of Go in Japan. I suppose, you could say you had dishonored my master's image."

Yongha's brows drew together in confusion. "Master?"

Hikaru only smiled mysteriously with a tint of wry amusement as Yongha continued to stare at him confusedly. Seeing that Hikaru was not about to give any explanations to his strange reply, Yongha smiled. As much as he wanted to find out the meaning behind Hikaru's words, Yongha was not willing to give up this slight improvement in their relationship. Besides, he is not one who would demand for explanations or answers from those who were not willing to give it.

"A truce then? I did not come here to fight with you." Yongha braved himself to ask.

Hikaru, being the naturally good-natured person, smiled brightly. "Sure. Although there is still my 'revenge', I don't have to have you as my enemy to beat you in Go, right?"

Yongha's mouth dropped open at Hikaru's bold words before shaking his head in wry amusement. "You know, you do, do wonders for a person's self-confidence."

"Yeah, aren't I fantastic?"

Yongha only shook his head smilingly in reply, shrugging his shoulders at the same time. Hikaru's eyes caught the sight of books that Yongha was holding apart from his several purchases from that action.

"What do you have there?"

"Oh, a few souvenirs for a few close friends and my family back in Korea. There is a couple of interesting shops around here. I got a yukata for Suyon, though…"

"For Suyon? That's original, I'm sure he'll like it. But what I was interested in are those books you are holding."

Yongha took a glance at the books in his hand as he raised them slightly for Hikaru's benefit. "These? Not too sure. Found them on the shelves. I mean they had some kifus I had never seen before, and some of them are quite good games… but I, er, the Japanese words are a bit confusing."

"Confusing? As in how? At what level is your Japanese is anyway?"

"…"

Hikaru look at Yongha skeptically. "You meant to tell me that you can speak Japanese fluently but have trouble reading the characters?"

A light flush colored Yongha's cheeks. "Suyon is the one who taught me Japanese. He only taught me spoken Japanese… you can't exactly blame me for not being able to read them."

"Since you can't read them, why are you holding so many of those books as if you meant to buy them? Wait… don't tell me you are buying them? For the sake of the kifus only? Like a picture book?"

Yongha refuses to answer, if nothing else, his flush darken slightly, clashing with his hair. Hikaru stared bewildered at Yongha before bursting out into laughter. Yongha's flush only gotten deeper at the younger boy's action as he scowled darkly at him. Sai could see that the Korean was holding himself back from bonking the younger boy on his head or doing something equally childish to stop Hikaru from laughing.

Sai smiled as Hikaru tried to stop himself from laughing. Shaking his head, Sai walked away from the two boys who are now discussing the books Yongha had. He had not known what had prompted him to look for Hikaru earlier. Sometimes was nagging in his mind, making him slightly disoriented. But whatever higher forces were at work, he was glad he found Hikaru and heard Yongha's explanations.

Sai still remembered the first day he met the young Korean and what reaction he had caused Hikaru to have. Sai could still recall all the things Hikaru had told him about Ko Yongha and how he had insulted Shuusaku, but he could not fit that image of Yongha with the Yongha he had finally met face to face. But the violent reaction that Hikaru had after meeting Yongha caused Sai to think otherwise. Today he finally seen the difference between the Yongha Hikaru had first met and the Yongha in front of them now.

The Ko Yongha in front of them now recognizes Hikaru as a worthy Go player and opponent. Therefore, he was truly genuine in his interactions with Hikaru. Maybe this will be good for Hikaru, after all it is not healthy for such a young person to be filled with so much anger.

And maybe… maybe they could draw Hikaru out of the melancholy and painful shell that Hikaru seemed to have built around him. Sai wandered around the shop aimlessly, having lost interest in it the second he felt Hikaru's discomfort.

'_Sai? Sai! Where are you?'_

"I'm here!"

'_Where's here? Oh, never mind. Do you remember me telling you once about Shuusaku's grave in Tokyo itself at the Honmyo Temple? Want to go there now? We could give Yongha a tour. He said he had never been there yet.'_

"All right! Lets go, lets go!"

Laughter was heard through the link that Sai share with Hikaru as he waited patiently at the entrance for the two young men to come over. Yes, maybe this time he could finally draw Hikaru out of his depressed shell, for the one who had placed more grievance and anger in Hikaru's heart had apologize genuinely. And he is here, interacting with Hikaru like how a normal acquaintance would.

If nothing else, it was a brand new beginning.

_-owari-_

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My dear wonderful readers… here's a new chapter! Thanks for being so patient with me (big grin). And big, big thanks to those who reviewed, you know who you are. I received so many compliment that I, myself was left floundering. My mother loves telling me my English is bad (her English is superb since she was schooled when the British still have control of my country) that I believes so. Thank you very much for all those wonderful reviews and encouragements. Those are the best inspiration a writer could ever have.

And like usual, please review and comments are welcome.

Until next chapter! (Which would not be too long, since it's already written and currently being edit. D )


	12. Chapter 12: Amazingly Blind

**Title:** A game of lost and found

**Warnings :** I am not sure where the story is gonna head, and I do not know which pairing I'm putting or if there's even a pairing… though I did receive suggestions… I'm just writing according to my flow and mood. And plz review, whether to insult me or whatever. Will love you if you do :) Domo!

**Summary:** Set after the Hokuto Cup, where Hikaru still trying to go on. This time around though, he has Sai back with him. But life isn't that easy, not when another Go genius other than Akira had his sights set on him. Life is definitely not easy nor simple for him.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hikaru No Go, its characters, and what-so-ever I used in this fic that associates with HnG. It's solely for my own entertainment... and yours if you enjoy it. :)

Er... before any of you complains, this chapter is not edited. I know I said it was being edit and, well, my editor's (I think she's called that right?) computer crashed. So she asked me to post it first and she'll edit it for me online, which means we'll probably have the edited Chapter 12 up soon… I hope (big big grin). For those who doesn't really care about errors and what-so-ever, have fun and for those who does, I'm very sorry.

And I'm starting to ramble… whatever. On with the story!

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**Chapter 12: Amazingly Blind**

"Hikaru! Hurry up or we will be late! What are you doing?"

_'All right already! I'm coming! Unlike you, I do need to pack some clothes and provisions for the trip!'_

A loud crash was heard seconds later as a muffled curse followed it. Soon a loud slam was heard as the stomping that usually follows after the door slamming echoes throughout the whole house.

Mrs. Shindou shook her in wry amusement as the noises followed Hikaru into the kitchen where she was putting finishing touches to the bento that she had insisted her son must bring along. No matter how polite and courteous Hikaru seemed to get more and more each day, he still begins it with his customary door slamming and stomping.

"Mum! Are those bento ready? I have to leave soon, otherwise I'll be late."

Without waiting for a reply, Hikaru stalked towards the dining table where he immediately gobbled down two pieces of toast and his glass of cold milk while still standing up. He then carried his glass and plate to the sink before proceeding towards the refrigerator, grabbing an apple out of it.

"Here, your bento for you and your friend."

Hikaru grimaced before giving his mother a smile as he took the bento from her. "Thanks Mum. Although we don't really need it, we appreciate it. I'm sure my friend does anyway."

"Ah, yes. He's from Korea, correct? Good thing I made some simple Japanese home-cooked food then. I hope he'll like it."

Hikaru absently hummed an agreement as he walked towards the front door while polishing the apple off. Mrs. Shindou was following demurely behind. She watched as Hikaru quickly wore his sneakers with years-earned practice ease.

"Be careful now. You'll be home either tomorrow or the next day, correct?"

"Hmm… hopefully by tomorrow night. I do have classes on Monday. If there are any changes I'll give you a call, all right? Don't worry… I made a trip like this once two years back, remember?"

"Oh yes I remember all right. Going all the way there without telling us and making me worried like that. Even if you were a pro then you shouldn't have done that."

Hikaru winced as he heard his mother's tone. "Sorry Mum. But it was some sort of emergency that time. I won't make impromptu trips like that without ever informing you again, all right? I promise."

Mrs. Shindou stern gaze turned soft at Hikaru's apology. He had apologized time and time again, but Mrs. Shindou was taking no chance that he might forget and make her worry like that again. Better to remind him every once in a while. Especially since he was the one who brought up the subject in the first place.

"Well then, you have fun Hikaru. Just be careful and call back if there's anything, all right?"

"Yes, yes. I know, I know. I'll take my leave now. See you soon. Bye!"

Hikaru waved at his mother as he walked out of the door. Just before he shut the door, he turned back to his mother cheekily. "By the way, Mum, you're getting repetitive. Must be your age catching up with you."

Hikaru quickly slammed the door as a muffled protest could be heard through the door. Sniggering, he quickly began his brisk walk towards the station where he was to meet his friend. At least he supposed he could call the Korean a friend now.

It was certainly a surprise, how amiable Ko Yongha could be once a person gets to know him. Of course it had also depends on Yongha's willingness. It seemed that the cocky Korean is one of those people whom are very choosy about the people they become friends with. In the short while since their coincidence encounter in the Go store, they had been spending quite some time together, mostly sight-seeing.

Thought they had not once play Go together, Hikaru found that he could not complain. Like how he enjoyed Hamano's company, he was starting to enjoy Yongha's company as well. This was why he had suggested to him a trip to Hiroshima, to visit the famous Honinbou Shuusaku's spots. Partly for Yongha, who still proclaimed fervently that he do indeed admire and respect Shuusaku a lot, and partly for Sai, who would definitely love it.

For Sai, it was more than just Go and Torajiro. It was the place where he had first met Torajiro and became one with him. Where they had began playing Go together till Torajiro started playing Go in Edo. It was a place filled with bittersweet memories for Sai.

This would explain why the aforementioned ghost was whining and nagging at Hikaru to speed up even though Hikaru was all but running.

_'For the last time, I'm not going to run! I'm walking fast enough as it is. Besides we're meeting Yongha at __9 am__, which happened to be an hour away! So calm down Sai! We'll get there soon enough.'_

"But you're always late!"

_'Excuse me! Pardon me, but aren't I out of the house early enough? It's one HOUR away!'_

"But… but Hikaru!"

_'Hush!'_

Sai began to pout prettily beside Hikaru, following Hikaru quietly and sulkily in hope that Hikaru will feel guilty in the silence which the semi-manipulative ghost created. Too bad it did not quite worked out as Sai wanted it, as Hikaru was too busy thinking about other stuff.

_'Too bad Touya couldn't make it.'_

Sai immediately perked up upon hearing that, all forms of manipulations forgotten. "Touya-kun? Why not? When did you ask him anyway?"

_'Yesterday, when we were at the salon.__ I believe you ran off to watch Ogata-sensei's and Ashiwara-san's game. He told me that he was asked to go for a Go function at… hmm, I forgot where exactly. Oh well, somewhere then.'_

Sai sweat-dropped upon hearing Hikaru's response. "Somewhere is not exactly a response, Hikaru…"

Hikaru scowled. _'Whatever.'_

"How come you did not go for such events?"

_'I do, just that it so happens that I'm not scheduled to go for any… at least not since you were back. Neither did I volunteer for any, like Touya sometimes does. The institute will call me if I'm required at any of these functions. I think they personally asked for Touya this time though, as I don't remember seeing this function in his schedule.'_

"I see… anyway, isn't Yongha-kun still living under Touya's roof?"

_'Yes, why?'_

"Just asking."

Hikaru nodded his head in acknowledgement as he continued his brisk walk. Sai was following beside him, this time in a contemplative silence. He was thinking of both Yongha and Akira. Maybe Hikaru did not notice it, but the gentle ghost sense some hostility between those two boys. Though both Yongha and Akira had never been seen together, there was some kind of resentment in their respective eyes whenever Hikaru mentioned one of them to the other.

As a matter of fact, the first time when Akira found out that Hikaru and Yongha had come to some sort of truce, courtesy of Hikaru, Akira had practically blew his top. Of course this had lead to an all-out shouting match which ended with Hikaru stomping out of the salon while Akira sat in his chair seething. The next time Hikaru and Akira had met, it seemed that Akira had forgotten all about that episode. Except that whenever Hikaru casually mentioned Yongha, Akira's gaze will turned a darker shade green with anger.

Not only that, Sai could sense that that the Go prodigy was holding himself back from either cursing the Korean to the seven depths of hell and back or asking, or rather, demands more information from Hikaru about his interactions with the Korean. Of course, holding back does not meant that Akira actually stop himself from doing so. Since Akira was too polite to really curse anyone, Sai had some entertaining moments listening to the veiled sarcasm coming out of Akira's mouth. Giving Hikaru some credit, he does catch those sarcastic remarks once in a while, but while he did mentioned it in passing to Sai, he had never call Akira on it.

Although, it did help in minimizing any information about the Korean from Hikaru to Akira. In fact Sai sometimes felt that Hikaru was more or less reporting to Akira whenever he went out or going to hang out with Yongha. If Sai had not known that these two boys were possessive of each other (in terms of Go rivalry of course), he would have thought that these two were actually in a romantic relationship.

Then again, Yongha did not fare any better than Akira. Of course, Yongha managed to keep his cool-headedness and did not shout at Hikaru about Akira. He probably was not used to such actions and even if he were, he is not as close to Hikaru as Akira is to be able to carry such actions out. But like, Akira, every time Hikaru mentioned Akira, the young Korean's aura practically screams annoyance. Plus with those brusque replies concerning Akira, it was amazing that Hikaru does not actually suspect anything yet.

Actually, it was not fair to say Hikaru does not suspect anything. He did, after all, realize that Akira and Yongha are each other cause of annoyance. And he knew enough to not talk to either of them about the other, only mentioning them briefly. But Hikaru had never bothered to question why they were so anti of each other or to even try and force them to get along or something like that.

Hmm… maybe it is not fair to say Hikaru did not notice it. After all, it is plain that Hikaru does notice it. Maybe Hikaru was not about to acknowledge or even get in depth with those two so-called rivalry… or whatever it is.

To Sai, it seemed that those two young men were actually waging a personal war against each other concerning Hikaru. He did not know whether it was the fact they consider each other rivals or they just plain hate each other. Sometimes Sai even suspects that the two of them were actually jealous of the attentions that Hikaru bestow to both of them. But why it was so is the only thing that Sai could not figure out.

As a matter of fact, Sai could also not figure out how those two could actually still live under the same roof. Anyway, it seemed like Hikaru actually respect both their silent wishes to not socialize with each other and actually kept his interactions with both of them apart. It's a miracle Hikaru did not complain about headaches or get frustrated at either of them. Sometimes Sai wondered if this is actually Hikaru's true patience, or was he actually relying on his care-not attitude.

Therefore when Sai learnt that Hikaru had actually invited Akira along to the trip to Hiroshima with Yongha, it came as a surprise. He could not understand how Hikaru is planning to kept both Yongha and Akira from killing each other if they both were to go on this trip, together. Or had Hikaru actually forgotten about those two's animosity?

Sai sneaked a look at Hikaru. The scary thing is, with Hikaru, that thought is actually possible.

"Say, Hikaru, why did you invite Touya-kun along?"

_'Hmm…? Why? You did not want to?'_

"No, not that… er, well… Touya-kun and Yongha-kun does not… get along well, isn't it?"

_'…_ (sigh)_… Yeah, I know. I just thought… I wanted Touya to come along.'_

"Oh… why?"

_'I never did tell you… that Touya found you, did I? The first true game that Touya and I had together, he found you, inside my Go.'_

"…"

_'Ah…! He claimed that there were another person inside of me, which is very close to what we actually are, isn't it? And I just remembered that in a way I promised to tell him all about Sai one day.'_

"I see… are you going to?"

_'I don't know. I am selfish when it comes to you. To tell Touya about you, it's like I'm going to share you. Even though you are back with me, right here, right now, I still don't know if I'm ever going to tell him. I was just happy and glad then, that someone actually found you.'_

"Then why are you asking him to come on this trip? Yongha I could understand, he knows nothing at all to connect you with me… but Touya? Surely he would question you?"

Hikaru gave Sai a very big grin. _'Touya claims that you are another me, but he does not have any proof. If anything, he only has my vague reply for it. And everyone knows that I revere Shuusaku and plays like him. I even am some-sort of expert on Shuusaku. True that he saw your shadow in me, but Sai is Sai and Shuusaku is Shuusaku. Apart from Waya, nobody actually thought to put Sai and Shuusaku together. So I am quite safe, I believe. Besides, it's not really that odd if I want to bring a Korean friend to see Shuusaku's sites, right? Especially since the friend is a Shuusaku's enthusiast?'_

Sai's face faulted. "Since you put it that way…"

'_Besides, I call Shuusaku my master sometimes, just to throw people off my back. And since I actually play like him, there weren't many questions.'_

"Hey… I thought I am your master?" Sai pouted.

_'Yup!__ You are. And since you and Shuusaku are one and the same… it doesn't really matter, right? It is much easier than telling people that Sai is actually my master. Yes, I could just picture the commotions. Thanks, but no thanks. I may be slightly sadistic, but I don't enjoy placing myself in such positions.'_

"Good point. Anyway, how does it stop Akira from asking?"

_'I suppose it won't, but that does not mean that I will answer him. Besides, if Yongha is there, I doubt that Touya will actually ask me about Sai.'_

"True… by the way, do you know how long Yongha-kun is actually going to be here in Japan?"

_'Er… nope.__ Come to think of it, I had never asked him that question. And he had been here for some time already, isn't it? What was it, two or three weeks?'_

"Hmm… I think so. Ask him later when he is going back."

_'Why? How come you are so interested in that?'_

"Secret!"

Hikaru scoffed lightly. _'Yeah, yeah.__ Whatever, you childish ghost.'_

"I know. Thanks for the compliment, Hikaru!" Sai answered in a cheerful tone, causing Hikaru to choke in his laughter.

"Oh look! There's Yongha-kun. He actually managed to get to this station in one piece and earlier than you… or are you late again?"

_'Hey! What's with the 'you-you' business? You're also traveling with me, if you had managed to forget that. Plus, look! It's not even nine yet. We're early!'_

Sai looked at the watch Hikaru was practically shoving at his face. Sai's mouth made an 'O' in surprise as he saw that was indeed before nine. In fact, they were actually fifteen minutes early. By then Yongha had seen Hikaru and was walking over to them.

"Shindou! Morning!"

"Good morning to you too, Yongha. You're early."

"Look who is talking. I'm actually surprise that you're early. I was expecting a long wait."

"I'm not really that bad, am I?" Hikaru asked, offended.

"You are." Yongha and Sai both echoes. Hikaru grimaced at the simultaneous replies before smiling brightly again.

"You're just jealous because it's part of my charming persona. You know, we can always find something charming about you so you won't feel that inferior next to me that you have to point such little thing out."

Yongha, who had been overdosed with Hikaru's weird sense of humor, just shake his head good-naturedly. He then watch, fascinated and a bit curious, as the same far-away look came into Hikaru's eyes. He had noticed that Hikaru had this look most of the time, like he was in deep thought or so. Though he had often wondered about that particular look, he had never asked Hikaru about it. Yongha considered himself as a private person, therefore he practices his own principles on other as well; respects one's privacy.

Suddenly Hikaru's clear, green-eyed gaze zeroed on him, surprising him slightly. Yongha did not have to wait long to find out the reason.

"How long are you staying in Japan, Yongha?"

Yongha's eyes narrowed slightly before he shrugged in abandon. To say he was surprise by the question was an understatement, since he himself does not know when he is going back. The question itself surprised him as well, since it came out of nowhere. Besides, Seon-kuen was enjoying himself too much to go back yet. And just yesterday night, he was talking to Suyon on the phone…

"I'm not too sure yet. Seon-kuen, my sempai whom I'm sure you have met in the center before, doesn't seem ready to go back yet."

"I see, but you could go back on your own if you wanted to, isn't it?"

"I guess so… why? Why the sudden interest? Surely you're not trying to get rid of me?"

"Don't be too full of yourself, Yongha. I was just curious; after all you're staying in Touya's home. Was just wondering how long you're going to be here." Hikaru mumbled out, thinking himself about the reasons why had Sai asked him to ask Yongha that particular question.

As observed by Sai, Yongha's eyes darkened at the mention of Akira while Hikaru was still lost in his own thoughts.

"Whatever. I may be staying longer, Suyon told me he wanted to come to Japan. I believe he wants to play Go with you."

"Suyon? Great!"

_'Did you hear that Sai? Suyon is coming!'_

Sai watched bemusedly as Hikaru's happiness went up a notch at the simple announcement as Hikaru chatter non-stop with the Korean, mostly asking questions about Suyon.

"Oh! We must hurry up and buy the tickets now since we did not reserve any, but since it's a normal weekend, I don't suppose there'll be a crowd…"

Hikaru trailed off while staring at Yongha contemplatively. Yongha only shrugged in answer. It seemed a bit stupid to point out to the dense boy that he is the native and not Yongha.

"Oh well, come on! Let's make a move."

But before Hikaru could drag Yongha off, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks immediately.

"Am I still invited?"

Even though surprised, Hikaru turned to the source of the voice immediately with a big grin on his face. Yongha turned too, but at a much slower rate with a slight annoyance in his face.

"Touya! You came!"

Akira smile softly at Hikaru's apparent happiness. Out of the corner of his eyes, Akira could see that the Korean was pissed at his arrival. Seeing that gave Akira grim satisfaction.

"Of course, how could I not? But of course if you did not look so forlorn yesterday, I might have not come." Though most would say those words flippantly, Akira said them with his normal soft, cultured voice, causing Hikaru to scowl.

"I was not forlorn, just disappointed."

Akira shrugged lightly, with the natural grace he seemed to be gifted with. "Same difference."

Hikaru snorted at Akira's reply, glaring at him playfully. Yongha's frown became more pronounce at the two boys' interactions.

"Akira-san, how did you managed to find us?" Yongha asked, careful to keep his tone bereft of any emotions except simple curiosity. Unfortunately, Akira could see through him as he turned challenging, gleaming eyes at Yongha.

"Shindou told me of course."

Hikaru was nodding at Akira's answer. "Yup, I told Touya… I hope you don't mind Touya coming along. After all, the more the merrier." Hikaru gave Yongha a winning smile which Yongha could not say no to, if he had the chance to, of course, for Hikaru had already turned back to Akira. "By the way, Touya, didn't you say that you had a function that you were required to go to? Where was it again?"

Akira sighed heavily. "In Kansai, I thought I told you just yesterday. Your selective memory loss is annoying… you do know that, don't you? Anyway, I had a chat with the organizers and found out I could decline. They just wanted me there for more publicity. When I told them I had something else on, they were quite alright with it. Besides, Yashiro will be there."

"Oh… Yashiro's hometown. True… he's a much more celebrated Go player there than either of us."

"Ne, ne. Who's Yashiro?" Sai asked while perching over Hikaru's shoulder, face turned to Hikaru happily.

_'An exceptional Go player from the Kansai district.__ He's quite famous for using out-of-ordinary moves. He started a game with Honda with the first hand as tengen. And when he played with me, he started with 5-5. The best thing is Yashiro actually has the skills to back up such exceptional moves.'_

"Indeed? So did you win?"

_'Of course!__ Do you think I would lose just because it differs? Have some faith in me, please.'_

Sai chuckled softly at the apparent scorn that accompanies those words.

While Sai and Hikaru was mentally conversing, the other two boys had taken to glaring at each other, neither one willing to back down. When Hikaru and Sai finally turned their attention back to them, needless to say, Sai was extremely amused by the whole situation. Hikaru took the whole scene into stride and proceed to hurry them, which in turn turned into dragging, towards the ticket counter while they continued glaring at each other.

"We're lucky! The next train leaves in fifteen minutes. Let's go, the platform is over there." Hikaru call out cheerfully, disrupting another staring match. Hikaru immediately walk towards the aforementioned platform without waiting for his companions or even a glance at them. Akira and Yongha could only smile wryly at Hikaru's usual behavior. Suddenly Hikaru turned back to them.

"Come on! We're going to have a blast in Hiroshima! Hiroshima, here we come!" Hikaru yell out happily before walking away again, causing people around him to either look at him with amusement or annoyance. Akira and Yongha both sweat-dropped at Hikaru action. As if suddenly realizing that both were sporting similar actions, each shot a glare at each other before swiftly following Hikaru, while trying to out-walk each other without being too obvious.

Sai, who had noticed both Yongha's and Akira's action, laughed quietly as he trailed after them gracefully.

They are going to have a _blast_ at Hiroshima all right.

**_-owari-_**

**-----------------------------------------**

As usual, thanks to all my reviewers! It was good knowing that you enjoyed the last chapter, for I was a bit unsure of it. I lost count of how many times I wrote it just to throw it away again and when I finally have it going, how many it had me at a stump. All the same, thanks again! I hope you find this chapter satisfactory as well.


	13. Chapter 13: Painful Secrets

**Disclaimer:** Like the previous chapters said…

Here is the edited chapter as promised! My dearest editor had actually post to me some time ago… but being to lazy me, I forgot to check my mail box. So anyway, here it is. And just so some of you know, I do like some of the reviews given. Even though most of you told me that you can guess or more or less knew where the story is heading, I seriously dunno where it is going. Hehe… just for some cheering up news, I finished the next chapter, waiting for my editor to edit it. So be patient and it will be uploaded soon… hopefully.

…'_words'…_ flashback conversation

'_words' _ thoughts

**-----------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 13: Painful Secrets**

Hikaru sighed as he lean against the railing of the balcony, silently thanking Mother Nature for the soft wind that was combing playfully through his hair, slowly soothing his headache away. He had expected those two not to get along… hell! He even anticipated it, but he had not counted on the headaches that would have come along with it.

'_Maybe this was not such a good idea after all.'_

"Well… can't say I did not warn you."

In response to the amused voice, Hikaru growled half-heartedly. Closing his eyes, he could hear the soft, muted sound of water hitting the ground. Yongha must still be in the bathroom. Since he couldn't hear anything else, he assumed that Akira must still be out. Grocery shopping.

Though why would they need any groceries is beyond him, since, according to their plan, they are going back to Tokyo tomorrow. And it was not like they needed anything.

"Sai… how could you still smile and laugh with those two driving us up the wall?" Hikaru asked softly, letting the breeze carry his words rather than his voice.

Sai, who had been standing beside Hikaru all this time, smile softly, not that the boy could see it.

"I believe you're the one who is being driven up the wall, not me. You know, I do sympathize with you… even though you're the one who orchestrated the whole thing."

Caught surprise by the playful answer, Hikaru's eyes widened showing his disbelief. "Don't tell me you're not… not…" fumbling for a word, Hikaru finally snarled softly, "annoyed or _something_ by them? I mean, they have been doing nothing but glaring and spiting veiled insults at each other all day!"

Sai watched, amused as Hikaru continued ranting about his two companions out loud, though still mindful enough to keep his volume low enough not to attract any unwanted attentions. Swallowing a chuckle at the last description, Sai reached out and gently placed his hand over Hikaru's mouth. Surprised by the gesture, Hikaru stop his rant, askance in his eyes.

"Enough, Hikaru, I am neither blind nor deaf. I do know what is going on… though I have to say I'm not as affected as you are by them."

Hikaru slumped at Sai's words, knowing them to be true. After all, during the whole trip he could feel nothing but amusement from Sai whenever he paid attention to those two. Turning around so that the railing supports his back, Hikaru replied wearily.

"So I noticed. I do not know why I'm so bothered either. Maybe I…" closing his eyes while tilting his head up, Hikaru's voice soften even more. "I guess I want to know why they are doing this. I do not understand. What is there for them to fight about? Yongha's opponent was me and as far as I know, he and Touya had not even had a game together, at least not a serious or official one that would provoke such reactions. So why this animosity? What trigger it?"

Sai, who had been watching Hikaru all this time, silently debated whether he should tell Hikaru some of his observations. He then decided not too. It was clear to Sai that those two were fighting over Hikaru. Hikaru was either denying that fact… or he was truly, honestly dense. Either way, Sai was not about to force Hikaru to see that fact. Instead Sai decided to sooth Hikaru. Bringing out his flute, Sai smiled softly in reminiscence before he starts to play.

At the wondrous melody streaming from Sai's flute, Hikaru felt his tension slowly seeped out his body as he began to relax, letting the music sooths his senses. He had not known when it started, but he had come to really appreciate Sai and his music. Closing his eyes, he let the music flow around him, smiling as he felt his spirits lift. A soft click jarred Hikaru back into reality, causing Sai to stop playing as well. Turning towards the sound, they saw Akira enter. Looking up, Akira flashed Hikaru a small smile as he closed the door lightly and placed his purchases on one of the beds before joining Hikaru on the balcony. Leaning his arms on the railing beside Hikaru, Akira took a deep, calming breath.

"What are you doing out here, Shindou?" Akira asked softly, as if sensing the peaceful and seemingly sacred silence that was surrounding Hikaru and was reluctant to disturb it.

Hikaru smiled softly. "Enjoying the breeze. We rarely get such a nice breeze back in town."

"Hmm… I couldn't agree more."

With that the two rivals and friends lapsed in comfortable silence, neither willing to break the peacefulness on the balcony. Sai, by then had got himself more comfortable, was sitting on the railing on the other side of Hikaru. As the silence lengthened, Sai took out his flute again and started a new melody. Hearing the familiar sound of the flute again made Hikaru's eyes flutter closed; leaning against railing even more so he could tilt his head up, surrendering his mind and body to the magic Sai was weaving with his music and the warm rays of the evening sun.

Unnoticed by Sai and Hikaru, Akira was watching Hikaru with puzzlement in his eyes. When he had first come in, he was slightly surprised at the relaxed pose Hikaru was displaying. Or rather, he was surprised at the serenity that was screaming from Hikaru's figure. He had not seen such peacefulness in the boy ever since… well, ever since he could remember, and to see him relaxing even more…

True, he was not close enough to Hikaru to make such a comment, but he can honestly say that no one had seen such peace from the other boy ever since he became a pro. Was it this place that gave such a comforting aura to the other boy? And if that is true, why this place? Does it have anything to do with Shuusaku?

…

'_Master? I do not have one. But if I must name someone, I guess I would say that Shuusaku is my master.' _

…

Akira tensed slightly in remembrance of that particular statement. Hikaru had said that once during one of those rare occasions where they sat down together without a goban between them, and Hikaru had said it with such a small sad smile that told of more secrets than his puzzling words had revealed. Akira had always wondered who had brought Hikaru into the world of Go. He had tried asking around before, but apparently no one knew as Hikaru was pretty tight-lipped about it. There were even speculations that the infamous Sai was Hikaru's master, but it was not confirmed… except for the fact that Akira, Ogata-sensei and Akira's father were the only ones who knew that Hikaru does know Sai after all. And even then, Hikaru had refused to say anything about it. Akira's father probably knew a lot more, but he had always denied any relations between Sai and Hikaru. So in the end, Akira had resorted to asking Hikaru himself, not that it did any good but bring forth more questions.

'_Hikaru… is Shuusaku really your master then? Is that why you are here then? In the town of Shuusaku's birth?'_

The sound door opening startled Akira, swinging his head to the source of the noise only to see a bare-chest Yongha clad in Bermudas walking out of the bathroom, still drying his hair. Unable to stop the scowl from appearing, Akira glared at the elder male before turning away. Sneaking another look at Hikaru, Akira took a second before deciding to leave the other boy in his blissful state and walked back into their room, catching the attention of Yongha.

At the movement coming from his left, Yongha turned to see Akira walking to his backpack. He then noticed Hikaru outside the balcony, partially hidden by the swaying curtain, looking as if he had not a concern in the world at all. Shrugging, he arranged his towel around his neck before sitting on the bed right in front of the television, flicking it on at he same time. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Akira watching him warily before proceeding to the bathroom. Smirking at Akira's back, he turned back to the idiot box, settling on watching the news. Hikaru had told him earlier that he had a headache, and though Yongha was loathed to admit it, he knew that the cause of it was most probably him and Akira, even if Hikaru was too polite to say so. So what better way to let the poor boy recuperate than to leave him alone?

Yongha sighed softly, eyes unfocused while staring at the screen. He wondered, for the umpteenth what he is doing and what he had hoped to accomplished in… whatever he was doing. He had first arrive in Japan, aiming to make the bleached-bangs boy notice him as more than an annoyance, aiming to make himself a prominent figure in his eyes. At least that was his original thoughts and goals. He had not expected for the boy to intrigue him even more, had not expected that instead of wanting to establish himself in whichever way possible in the boy's eyes, he had suddenly started yearning for Hikaru's acknowledgement. He wanted Hikaru's friendship, to the point where he had willingly explained his actions during the Hokuto Cup, even when he had silently vowed not ever to.

He had finally understood why, unprovoked, he would go and attack Akira verbally. He could finally comprehended the jealousy he had felt when he saw Hikaru interacting with the purple-haired idiot. He had wanted the easy camaraderie that was apparent in Hikaru's interactions with them. He wanted Hikaru to see him as one of his friends. And now that he had achieved it, he realized that he wanted more.

'_Maybe Suyon was right… utterly, perfectly and honestly accurate in his off-handed accusations. I am totally obsessed with Shindou Hikaru.'_

Yongha let himself falls down heavily onto the bed behind him, staring up blindly at the ceiling. He knew he wanted the enigma named Hikaru, but he had not realized then he wanted Hikaru as more than just a challenge, a rival one would say. And now that he does, he felt like he had just feel into a pitch black pit with no way out. Suddenly he could not help feeling glad that Suyon is arriving in a few more days. He was yearning for some form of familiarity, even if it comes in the form of his annoying housemate and good friend who also happened to be on good terms with Yongha's source of problems.

At the soft footsteps, Yongha turned to Hikaru, a soft welcoming smile on his lips even before he registered it forming. Getting a smile in return, Yongha could not help feeling glad, pushing away his earlier depressed state.

"What are you doing?" Hikaru asked nonchalantly, snatching the remote from Yongha's hand before dumping himself unceremoniously beside Yongha.

Returning his gaze towards the ceiling, Yongha smiled. "Taking a break, which I assumed that's also what you're doing at the balcony?"

"Hmm…? Aa… more or less." Came the distracted reply.

"More or less? What are you doing at the balcony then? And what are you watching? I was hearing the news for your information."

"Really?" Yongha scowled lightly at the obvious amusement lining those words. "I thought you were just letting the sound of news lure you to sleep, which I assumed, from your very obvious posture, quite effective. As for what I am watching, it's called a documentary. You know those entertaining and educational shows about wildlife or nature. Anyway, if you would like to know, it's about penguins. They're adorable… not that it matters to one who already has his eyes closed. Then again, you're just letting those droning voices sent you to sleep… don't worry, documentaries are dull enough."

"Hmmph… whatever." Yongha mumbled darkly, even though Hikaru could see a small smile trying to form on the elder male's lips. After a long moment, Yongha mumbled sleepily. "Feeling much better?"

"Yes… thanks. My headache is gone."

Hikaru shake his head slightly at the soft humming he received from Yongha, which told him that Yongha was slowly drifting off the land of the sleep. He watched as Yongha's breathing slowly deepened, entranced by the sleeping male.

'_Sai… do I look like that when I sleeps?'_

"Like what, Hikaru?"

'… _Peaceful. Like I do not have a care in the world.'_

Sai laughed lightly. "Everyone looks like that when they are sleeping. What a weird question you're asking."

'_Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just that… I had not felt peaceful for such a long time I… I guess I forgot what it feels like anymore.'_

At those forlorn words, Sai sobered up immediately, watching Hikaru intently. He wondered if Hikaru realized what he had just whispered so brokenly. No words could describe the pain and sorrow he feels when he saw Hikaru looking so lost and alone. Gently, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Hikaru. Startled by the gesture, Hikaru frowned but did not extract himself from the embrace.

'_Sai?'_

Ignoring the questioning call, Sai tightened his arms slightly. "Have I come back too late? Have you withdrawn so much that you can't come back to me anymore?"

At those soft, painfully uttered questions, all strength seemed to flow out of Hikaru. Hikaru knew what Sai was talking about. Slowly, Hikaru reached up, wrapping his fingers lightly around the arms tightly bound across his chest. Sai's heart constricts even more at the slight tremors he could feel running in those long fingers. He knew that his leaving would have such an impact on Hikaru, and seeing Hikaru had only reinforced it. He had not wanted to admit to himself, had not wanted to see the broken person that was once his everything. But now, there was no way out. No more denying.

Hikaru felt like laughing, but his bitter laughter could not quite work through the lump clogging in his throat. Hikaru had known that sooner or later Sai would finally see through his façade. He had resigned himself to that fate, after all Sai knew him the best… he just had not expected that day to come so soon. He had changed for too much for Sai not to notice. He knows how people around him perceived him. Like Akari had said, he is determined and strong, but that was just to hide the part that had been broken since the departure of Sai. He managed to pick up the broken pieces since Isumi forced him to play Go and the one time Sai had appeared to him in the dream, but there were still far too many broken pieces laying around, and he lacked the strength to pick them all up.

So he had left them broken, thinking that one day… surely one day, those pieces will be gone… or at least hidden, hidden so deep that Hikaru will never have to see them, will not even remember them. It was a task he had managed so well that it had become part of him. He no longer knows which part of him is broken, which part is whole… or maybe he had been broken all these time, hiding behind a façade that had fooled so many, including himself. He was not prepared for Sai to come back, had not even expected it. Sai's unexpected return had healed him so much, but too much time had pass and far too many layers had been added to hide those wounds.

Not knowing what to say, Hikaru finally whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Sai. Please forgive me."

Hikaru sensed more than felt the slight shake of Sai's head. "No, I'm sorry, Hikaru, for leaving. I know I could not have helped it, but I should have told you, back when I knew I was slowly disappearing. Instead I had let my fears, my selfishness conquered me, making it too late to even say goodbye. I had not wanted to leave, not when I have not attained the Hand of God… not when I had to leave you for good. By the time I had to go, I finally realized that my purpose back then was to guide you, but… I am not stupid or blind, every action has its own consequences. My actions have caused your consequences."

A lone tear ran down Hikaru's cheek. Again at lost for words, Hikaru could only shake his head, not knowing whether he was trying to deny Sai's words or trying to reassure Sai, and most probably, himself as well.

"Sai, I…"

"You have grown so much." Sai spoke up again, disregarding Hikaru's words. "In such a short time, you have grown so much. I have to catch up, don't I? I can no longer pretend that we can go back to how we used to... even as we both wanted to so much. Too much had changed…"

Unable to force any speech through his lips, Hikaru answered Sai in their linked mind.

'_Yes… too much had changed… but you're back with me. That's all I need. One day I'll be whole again, all I need is you to stay. Never leave me again.'_

"I will never leave again. That is a promise. Will you wait for me? I want to catch up…"

"Forever. Thank you, Sai."

Unbeknownst to them, Akira had chosen that moment to walk out of the bathroom with his usual silence. But before he could take another step into the room, he saw Hikaru sitting besides a sleeping Yongha. Normally that would piss the stoic boy off, but what had really caught his attention was the expression on Hikaru's face. Akira, who had not seen Hikaru upset before except for the one time during the Hokuto Cup, could not understand the pain in Hikaru's face. He wondered what could have caused such an expression on the other boy's features.

And then he heard the softly whispered words, filled with so much gratitude and love, causing Akira to retreat blindly back into the bathroom. Closing the door soundlessly, he leaned his forehead against it, not knowing what to think… or how to take the words spoken so softly, so lovingly by Hikaru.

…

'_Forever. Thank you, Sai.' _

…

Akira gritted his teeth at the pain he feel remembering those words. Who the hell is this Sai? He had his father captivated. And now that he had finally confirmed the connection between Hikaru and Sai, he had also found out that Sai was most probably Hikaru's most important person.

Not him. Not Touya Akira.

After all, Touya Akira could never bring forth such emotions from the secretive and sometimes aloof boy. Once and only once had Akira seen Hikaru being so desperate and passionate. That was when Ko Yongha had insulted Shuusaku and thus made an enemy out of Hikaru. But Shuusaku is dead… and therefore has no true hold on Hikaru, right?

And then… what about Sai? The whole time nobody had managed to find out who Sai was. The only one who came close was Akira's father, and he too failed to get any answers, not that Touya Koyo would reveal any. But Hikaru… Hikaru had known Sai all this time.

'_You promised… you promised me, Shindou! You said you would tell me about Sai one day. Or is that an empty promise? Who is Sai? Why is he so important to you? Why won't you tell me! Why… why do you give me the impression that everyone pales in comparison to the elusive Sai?' _

Akira did not know how long he hid in the bathroom, coming out only when he felt him was calm enough. Opening the door louder this time, he walked out and saw Hikaru transfixed with the television in front of him, looking unlike the image Akira had seen earlier. He was still sitting besides the peacefully sleeping Yongha and looking like his usual lazy self. Try as he might, Akira could no longer see the pain and sorrow that made up the other boy earlier. If he was one for vivid imaginations, he would have thought that he had imagined the whole scene earlier.

Unknown to Akira, Hikaru and Sai had finally made peace, even though Sai had not relinquished his precious bundle. Being in each other embraces had helped them more than they could have imagined, basking in each others' comforting presence. This was especially true for Hikaru, for he had finally come home. They both know that they have a long way to go before Hikaru is whole again, but they both know, as long as they are together nothing else really matters.

"Hey Shindou, aren't you going to take a bath?"

Hikaru smiled lightly, having noticed the other boy's presence much earlier. "Of course, but the documentary is pretty interesting. Since Yongha is asleep, I want to finish watching the penguins first."

Akira looked bewildered, and it echoes in his voice. "Penguins?"

In response, Hikaru pointed at the television, which was showing penguins gliding out of the sea as graceful as any sea creatures. Akira stared transfixed by the images before turning back to Hikaru, incredulous in his face.

"You're watching a documentary on penguins?"

Hikaru frowned at the disbelief in Akira's tone. "Yes. What's wrong with me watching a documentary on penguins?"

Hikaru watched as Akira opened and closed his mouth several times before composing himself. "No, nothing. I just had not expected you to watch a documentary… and on penguins."

"What's wrong with penguins? They are pretty cute." Hikaru asked, confused and an instant later grimaced. "I can't believe we're arguing over penguins."

Akira stared blankly at Hikaru. Within seconds, soft chuckles were heard from the normally serious boy. Hikaru glowered at Akira before slowly joining him in laughter. Sai, who was still hugging Hikaru, smiled and mock shook his head at the antics of the two boys.

"You're right. We just had a very wonderful _conversation_ about penguins." Akira said flatly, finally managing to stop laughing. Hikaru grinned cheekily at him. Shaking his head, Akira walked to the bed beside Hikaru and sat down, watching the documentary along with Hikaru and Sai.

Even though he was facing the television, Akira was not even remotely registering the images on the screen for his mind was in turmoil. There were so many questions running in his head, so many questions he wanted to ask, but even without voicing them he knew he would not get any answers out of Hikaru. Sneaking him a few looks, he decided to throw caution into the wind.

"Why have you brought us here, Shindou?"

Watching the boy intently, Akira could only deduce that Hikaru had expected this question sooner or later, for the lack of reactions had more or less spelled it out. As the minutes passed, Akira wondered if Hikaru would ever answer the question when the silence stretched on. He even wondered if Hikaru had heard him at all. Unknown to Akira, Hikaru was mentally having another conversation with Sai.

'_Should I answer?'_

"Well, you have to say something or even brush the question aside."

'_I can always pretend I did not hear it…'_

"Would you?" Sai asked in response, already knowing the answer.

'_No… I won't. You know that.'_

Sai's arms tightened again. "Yes, I do. And again, I did warn you about Touya-kun's sharp mind."

Hikaru smiled slightly at Sai's answer. Without turning to Akira, Hikaru asked softly.

"Why do you think we're here, Touya?"

Akira shrugged carelessly, a gesture he had picked up from Hikaru. "It seemed like this trip was more than just to visit Shuusaku's sites."

"Is that so?" Hikaru replied lightly, giving no indications to his thoughts, at least not to Akira.

"That's what I am asking."

"Hmm… is it so hard to believe that I wanted to bring Yongha here?"

"No, not hard, but I know you better than that."

"Oh?" Hikaru finally turned to face Akira, an indescribable smile on his lips. "Is that so?"

There was danger in those three words. The same three words Hikaru had uttered so lightly before were now said in a tone that was hardly like the Shindou Hikaru everyone knew, a tone that bespoke of warning. Even Sai was surprised by the tone, hearing the clear 'back-off' signs in them. Akira, unable to bear the senseless bantering that was getting no where, disregarded the blatant warning and glared at Hikaru.

"I know so. You hardly do anything without a reason anymore, isn't it? In fact, I believe your every action has an ulterior motives in them… that is only known by you, isn't it? None of us knows why you do the things you do… at least not anymore. And I believe I spoke for your friends as well when I said this, especially for Fujisaki-san and Isumi-san."

Hikaru tensed slightly at the harsh accusations, an action only Sai noticed. "Like I said, we're here so that Yongha--"

"Don't. I know what you want to say. So that Yongha-san can see the _famous_ Shuusaku's sites, right? Is that all really there to it?"

"What else can there be?"

"… I know for a fact that when you stopped playing Go that time you came here. You came here, rushing through each and every Shuusaku's site as if you were possessed, searching for something. And then you went back to Tokyo's very own Shuusaku's sites. Father even bought you a book of all of Shuusaku's kifus. Somehow everything comes back to Shuusaku."

Akira shut his mouth before he could add more even though his next sentence was running in his mind, knowing that it would only cause the other boy to clamp up more. _'Even Sai has to do with Shuusaku.'_

Hikaru had looked away when the accusations started. Akira frustrations grew as Hikaru kept quiet. What drove Akira even crazier was the fact that Hikaru body language was practically screaming of weariness. He knows that body language… in fact Akira was quite acquainted with it. Hikaru is going to get up sooner or later and leave him hanging… again. Gritting his teeth almost painfully, Akira resolved not to let it happen this time, dismay dictating his actions.

"Why are you not answering me? Or even shouting at me? Were you really searching for something here then? Are you back here for that one thing again? Tell me! Shout at me! Something! Just don't sit there and pretend you're deaf, for God's sake!"

Still, Hikaru did not answer, did not even face Akira. Even Sai did not know what to say or do. The questions Akira asking was too close to home for both of them. Questions that were near impossible to answer, at least not without several lengthy explanations… explanations that Sai was certain that Hikaru was not willing to give at all.

…

'_I'm selfish when it comes to you.'_

…

"Why won't you answer me! Who the hell is Shuusaku to you, Shindou? Hell, they even call you the Shuusaku's calligraphy expert! Is Shuusaku that important to you? Do I even stand anyway near that God-forsaken Honinbou Shuusaku! Do you even remember that your beloved Shuusaku is dead!"

Hikaru whipped around and glared at Akira, dislodging Sai's arms at the same time. Even as Sai was muttering calming words, he could not stamp his anger.

"I believe I told you before, Touya." Hikaru spoke deliberately, shocking Akira out of his agitation with his cold tone. "Shuusaku is my master. You would do well not to speak ill of my master."

Akira, unable to bear the angry gaze, looked away. After a while, he heard Hikaru getting up. Turning back to Hikaru, he watched as Hikaru picked up his clothing before walking tiredly towards the bathroom. Pausing just before he enters the bathroom, Akira heard Hikaru softly addressing him before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Sorry, Touya. That was uncalled for."

Akira stared blindly at the closed door, unable to take in what had happen earlier, even though he was the one who started it. If hearts are made out of glass, Akira could imagine his shattering right now. Though Hikaru had not replied his rambling, Akira had managed to confirm one singular thing. The one thing that he was hoping against hope that it will never be true.

Touya Akira was nothing compared to Honinbou Shuusaku.

And there is Sai. Sai and Shuusaku, Shuusaku and Sai. With these two extraordinary figures in Hikaru's life, where does Akira stand?

…

'_Sorry, Touya. That was uncalled for.'_

…

Akira shut his eyes in something akin to despair. Hikaru said sorry, but knowing Hikaru as he does, he can hear the unspoken message. Hikaru is sorry, sorry for the words, but not for the meaning and the reason that prompted those words. Hikaru did not ask for forgiveness for those words, only sorry that he had to say them to Akira. Touya Akira is Shindou Hikaru's only rival… but apparently it is worth nothing when compared to one dead _master_ and… who the hell is Sai?... someone who only Hikaru knows.

The room suddenly felt stifling to Akira even though the sliding doors were wide open. Walking toward the balcony, Akira did not see a pair eyes watching his retreat.

A pair of dark orange eyes that looked as unsettled as Akira felt.

_**-TBC-**_

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To some of my reviewers, I'm so sorry that my story 'faded of the radar' but I am a bit too busy to be able to update regularly. I'm going into my final year soon and I can't afford to mess it up. Definitely do not want to repeat… so if you guys could bear this, I would be so ever grateful. I apologize in advance for m future late chapters. Won't make promises I can't keep. Sorry.

Anyway, I got to thinking, since I am trying to improve my English, I shall stop my Japanese words in my story. So it is good news for some, huh? Hehe…

Yup, my country was a British colony and when we get our independence, our government change all our subjects to our national language. Problem is my generation's English sucks big-time. And now that the government realized their folly, my youngest sister has half her subjects in school in English. I wouldn't know whether I would consider those of us elder than her lucky or unlucky. On one hand we had it all easy, in our national language but have to do with bad English. On the other hand, my sister English is going to be so much better than mine! Whatever… dumb government anyway. No offense.

Dearest De Luna, you are seriously amazing… you actually reviewed each chapter. Wow… Thanks a bunch! Of course big thanks to the rest of my reviewers as well. You guys do remind me to update soon, though I still manage to update late all the time. So sorry. Thanks again. Big, big smile.


	14. Chapter 14: It's Complicated

**Chapter 14: It's Complicated**

Suyon couldn't help the smile from his face when his eyes finally found the scowling figure of Yongha standing next to a pillar. A place, Suyon noticed, that was as far away as possible from the crowd at the arrival gate and yet still near enough for Suyon to see him. Suyon laughed lightly as an apprehensive look came upon Yongha's face as he warily glared at a woman coming his way who was more intend on scolding her wayward son than steering her trolley.

Suyon quickly made his way up to Yongha. Before long, Yongha caught a sight of him but instead of a smile that Suyon was expecting, he was presented with a scowl. Amused, Suyon sped up and stopped right in front of Yongha, grinning widely all the way. To his increasing amusement, Yongha's scowl got even fiercer.

"My, my… someone is definitely very anti-social today," Suyon finally remarked cheekily.

"Shut it, you brat. Tell me again why did I agree to pick you up?"

"You did not agree, my dear friend. You offered."

Yongha gave Suyon a death glare, something he had picked up from Akira from the countless hours they had spent antagonizing each other. Yongha crossed his arms and looked away, scoffing at the same time.

"Same thing."

Suyon blinked at Yongha, unable to believe how Yongha had managed to sound like a spoilt brat even when he was acting haughty and regal. Suyon soon shrugged it off, deciding that teasing Yongha further will not be that much of a good idea.

"Right… so anyway, where's Shindou?"

Looking about the terminal, Suyon missed the shadow in Yongha's eyes at the mentioned of Hikaru. When Suyon turned back to Yongha, Yongha was back to his egoistic manner again.

"Shindou had a game today. He sends his regards though. Don't worry, you'll see him soon."

"A Dan-series game?"

"Yes."

Suyon grinned happily. "Then let's go to the Go association! I have always wanted to see how their association looks like."

Yongha shrugged. "Nothing special. Looks more or less like ours."

Suyon scoffed. "Normally, everything looks the same to you, so I'll just have to see it for myself. Your opinions are not trust-worthy."

"Brat. And to think I actually got you a souvenir. I'll just give it to someone else then."

Suyon laughed at that, knowing that it was just an empty threat. He had lost count of how many similar threats he had gotten from the elder boy that somehow never came true.

Not that he ever wanted them to.

"Come on! Let's go to the association now!" Suyon exclaimed eagerly, turning to the exit even before he finished his sentence.

Yongha smiled bemusedly at Suyon before shaking his head and following the younger boy at a more leisure pace that earned him a scowl. Before long, Suyon marched back to him and latched onto his wrist, dragging him all the way to the exit.

"You know, Suyon, don't you have to make an appearance at your uncle's place first?"

At the curious question, Suyon stopped dead in his tracks, looking horrified. Whirling around suddenly, Suyon's panicky face only amused Yongha even further.

"Why didn't you remind me earlier! Now we can't go to the association. Shindou might have already finished his game by then. I can't believe I won't be able to see the association!"

Yongha shrugged. "I have Shindou's cell number. I can always give him a call or text him and ask him to wait for us or something."

"But I want to surprise him!" Suyon whined, effectively sounding like a child of five.

As Suyon stood there forlornly, Yongha could only wonder what had happened to the level-headed boy he normally knew. Maybe all the flying had messed his head up badly. Then again, they had travelled together before and Suyon had never displayed such behaviour before. Unless…

"Suyon, how much sugar intake did you had?"

"Sugar? None, all I had in the plane was sodas. They do have an infinite amount of them… never seemed to run out. Had nothing to do, so drinking a variety of sodas seemed like a great idea."

Yongha stared at his friend blankly before sighing in defeat. Suyon was on sugar-high after all, overdosing on sodas of all things. He really hated dealing with a sugar-high Suyon that never seemed to run out of energy or overactive antics. Yongha groaned, realizing for sure that he would be run ragged by the time the day was over.

"Let's just get this day over with." Yongha mumbled. Out loud Yongha told Suyon to call his uncle informing him of his arrival and that Suyon would come by later.

"Why?" Suyon asked, sounding a tad bewildered.

"Do you or do you not want to go to the association?" Yongha asked more sharply than he intended, though it didn't have the desired effect on Suyon, who just lit up like a Christmas tree and proceeded to do as Yongha instructed, paying no mind to the glare Yongha was favouring him with.

As Suyon began to chat happily on the cell phone with his uncle, Yongha found his mind going back to Hikaru. He hadn't seen the boy since the Hiroshima trip. True that Hikaru had school, games and meetings to go to, but Yongha didn't try very hard to meet with Hikaru either. There was just too much on his mind right now that he needed to sort out.

Thinking back to the trip, Yongha gritted his teeth almost painfully. Ever since that day in the hotel room, Yongha, for the first time, found himself resentful of Shuusaku. If it wasn't for Akira's raised and agitated voice, he would've never woken up and would've probably remained ignorant. How blessedly ignorant he would have been if it were so. Yongha could only curse himself for being a light sleeper. It was not his intention to eavesdrop, but what could one do when he woke up in the middle of an argument, except feign ignorance?

Touya Akira he can hope to fight and win… but how could he fight a ghost?

Bitterness coursed through him again. Again he had come here thinking that Touya Akira was his only rival for his goal. Back then his goal was Go and instead of facing his supposed rival, he had ended up facing Shindou Hikaru, an amazing player that had had Yongha panicking a few times, even though in the end Hikaru had lost. Now his goal was Hikaru, and though initially his rival was Akira again, it seemed to end up with both of the stale mates losing to a ghost.

Back then, Hikaru had challenged him because of Shuusaku.

…

"_Why do you play Go?"_

"…_To link the far past with the far future."_

…

Yongha had first thought, when he'd heard that phrase from Hikaru, that Hikaru was aiming for the strength of those legendary players, Shuusaku in particular, which explained why he was attacked so fiercely during their game. He had never thought that the reason could be something so close to Hikaru's heart.

…

"_The only reason I can give you is that to me, you had not only insulted a great figure of Go in Japan. I suppose, you could say you had dishonoured my master's image."_

"_Shuusaku is my master. You would do well not to speak ill of my master."_

…

Without knowing how or why, he found out that he sympathized with Akira. It's truly a painful thing to think that you are someone's most important person only to find out that you're actually not. He remembered Akira telling him that Hikaru played like Shuusaku more often lately during one of their rare companionable moments. He remembered clearly even now how Akira's tone bespoke of respect, awe, sadness and even slight bitterness. He hadn't understood those emotions then but he definitely could give a guess now.

Suddenly he yearned to have a game with Hikaru. Hikaru had been a strong player when they played during the Hokuto Cup. Yongha wanted to know Hikaru's strength now. He wanted to know if the rumours he had been hearing were true. He wanted to see if he could find out how much Shuusaku meant to Hikaru.

…

"_Shindou-kun is playing more and more like Shuusaku. I'm waiting for the day when I can finally play a game against him."_

"_I lost to Shindou 1-Dan. Even though I lost, the game was amazing… there were moves that you'd never thought you'd ever see in front of your eyes on a goban, instead in a kifu. All the same I would rather not play him again."_

"_Shindou has grown stronger again."_

…

"YONGHA!"

Jerking in surprise, Yongha scowled at the culprit, though his frown faltered when he saw Suyon's worried features.

"What's wrong?"

Suyon glared, losing his worried look instantly. "What's wrong? What's wrong! I should be the one asking you that, not the other way around. You have been staring into space for the past five minutes. Short of yelling into your ear, there was nothing that could make you snap out of it!"

Yongha grimaced apologetically. "Sorry, I had something on my mind."

"Obviously. Are you going to tell me?"

At the silence Suyon had more or less expected as an answer, he sighed and turned towards the exit once more.

"Its fine, you don't have to tell me. Come on then, we're going--"

"I want to play Shindou."

Though spoken quietly, the statement was louder than any sound system to Suyon's ears, stopping him efficiently to his feet. Turning around, Suyon's surprised eyes stared at Yongha, taking in the determined stance Yongha was holding himself in. Staring harder, Suyon was shocked to find desperation mixing within the depths of Yongha's haughty eyes.

Not knowing what to say, Suyon said the first thing that came to his mind. "Haven't you had a game with him since you came?"

Yongha shook his head in negative. "We just hung out and tour around. He did bring me to a few of his Go study groups… but we never played against each other."

Suyon's puzzled eyes sparkled at Yongha. "I thought you wanted to? That was the reason you came, isn't it?"

Suyon watched with bated breath as Yongha struggled with his answer. Yongha hardly struggled for anything. In fact, Suyon could not remember the last time he had seen Yongha in such state. Eyes narrowing, Suyon turned away form Yongha for the third time.

"Let's go."

Yongha watched Suyon as he walked away before running after him.

"Suyon?"

"You wanted to play Shindou, right? Let's find him then."

Just as suddenly as he had started to walk away, Suyon stopped again. Yongha, who had been trailing behind Suyon, watched him warily, not knowing what to expect now.

"I don't know what the hell is wrong. But it seems to centre around Shindou… doesn't it? Or am I wrong?" Suddenly Suyon spun around and glared at Yongha, continuing heatedly. "I'll be damned if I let you continue like this. This indecisive person is not the Yongha I know. If having a game with Shindou will help, I'll damn well make sure you have that stupid game!"

With that Suyon turned back again, this time stalking almost angrily towards the taxi stand. Yongha could only gape at Suyon's back before regaining his senses and hurrying after him. Catching up with Suyon, one of Hikaru's many parting words echoed through Yongha's mind.

…

"_I will show you why I am Shuusaku's pupil."_

…

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Hikaru smiled with satisfaction as he swept his white stones back into the container before doing the same for his opponent's black stones. His opponent had resigned and walked away immediately after when he had realized that he couldn't beat Hikaru.

"Morning! Oh, looks like you won again, right?"

Startled, Hikaru looked up to the speaker to find a grinning Hamano Kariudo. Smiling brightly, Hikaru nodded his head in answer before getting up and pulling Kariudo along with him. Once Hikaru marked down his winning, he dragged a willing Kariudo out of the hall and into the corridor. As Hikaru exchanged his indoor slippers to his shoes he mock-scolded Kariudo.

"Hamano! You know better than to talk in the hall. You're just begging to be scolded by Sensei."

Kariudo only grinned cheekily in reply, knowing his friend was only repeating what he had been saying for weeks now. Hikaru tried to glare warningly at Kariudo before giving up. The guy's expression was too much like Sai's for him to get angry at him for any length of time.

"Hey Shindou, where's that Korean guy who had been shadowing you all the time?"

Hikaru scowled playfully at Kariudo even as Sai sniggered beside him. "That Korean guy's name is Ko Yongha. Try to remember that at least. And he does not 'shadow' me as you so eloquently put it."

'_Besides, if anyone is doing the shadowing, it would be Sai.'_ Hikaru thought absently, ignoring Sai's affronted yell beside his ear.

Kariudo shrugged, still grinning all the while. "Sure looks like it to me. I hardly see you without him waiting for you somewhere anymore."

"Yeah, sure… whatever." Hikaru replied off-handedly, turning away.

"Hey – HEY! Shindou! Don't you turn away from me. Wait for me, you brat."

Hikaru smirked as he could hear Kariudo change his shoes in a rush before running after him. But before Kariudo could even open his mouth, someone yelled Hikaru's name out loud, causing the said boy to wince painfully. Hikaru turned around and promptly sighed.

"You idiot, where are you going without me?"

Watching the glaring person a tad nervously, Hikaru smiled shakily.

"Come on, Waya. I didn't know you were here today."

If it was even possible, Waya upped his glare a notch. "Oh, really?"

"Of course! Would I ever lie to you, Waya?" Hikaru asked earnestly with puppy eyes, taking a leaf out of Sai's book.

Kariudo and Sai were watching the two boys with amusement, Sai sniggering all the way. Before Waya could get another word in, Hikaru clamped onto Kariudo's hand and dragged him forward.

"Waya! Have you met my friend, Hamano Kariudo? Hamano, this is one of my close friends, Waya Yoshitaka."

As the two newly re-introduced friends greeted each other with mocking playful pleasantries, Hikaru gave a sigh of relieve. He had totally forgotten about Waya's game today.

"You should really get something to help you remember dates and stuff like that. Something like that book you showed me the other day." Sai remarked cheerfully.

'_I know… but I don't think I'll be able to remember having an organizer in order to use it, Sai.'_

"True… can't help you there."

'_I know. You're as forgetful as me. Sometimes I think it's all because of you I'm so forgetful.'_

"Hey! Don't put the blame on me just because you pissed off Waya again."

'_No, I'm blaming you for my forgetfulness. After all I was stuck with you for three years everyday in my head. Who knows what else you shipped over to my head apart from Go and forgetfulness.'_

"Hey Shindou! Where were you heading?"

Smiling, Hikaru turned to face Waya, ignoring the whining and babbling of Sai. "Oh, I was thinking of getting some lunch, like always. Interested, both of you?"

Kariudo smiled and nodded happily while Waya grinned widely. "Of course, my dear Shindou. Would I ever say no to food?"

Hikaru mock-glared at Waya. "Like that is even worth answering."

"The elevator is here, Shindou, Waya-san. Come on."

"Waya-_san_! I'm not my father and neither am I old! Please, Hamano, leave it at Waya, will ya?" Waya whined as the three of them walked up to an arriving elevator.

Hikaru, who was laughing along with Kariudo at Waya's whining, stopped abruptly when he saw who was coming out of the elevator.

"Touya…" Hikaru whispered softly but nevertheless caught the sharp ears of Akira.

Hikaru and Akira stared at each other warily, before simultaneously looking away. They hadn't truly spoken since that evening in Hiroshima. Even Yongha seemed to sense their unease and was quite amiable to both of them for the rest of the trip. Realizing that their tiff couldn't last forever, Hikaru turned back to Akira.

"Touya." Hikaru called out louder, catching both Waya's and Kariudo's attention.

"Shindou?" Waya questioned.

"Guys, I need to talk with Touya for a while. Could you both wait for me at the lobby? I'll be down in a minute." Hikaru asked, all the while keeping his eyes trained on Akira, who was still facing away from him, resolutely refusing to even glance at Hikaru.

Waya looked back and forth between the two shrewdly before shrugging. "Sure. Come on, Hamano-_san_, let's go see if there are any opponents in the public hall worth watching. And hurry up Shindou, or else we leave without you."

Hikaru didn't bother to answer as his two lunch partners walked away, all the while watching Akira. Hikaru called out Akira's name again, louder this time and still Akira didn't look at him though he didn't move away either.

'_Sai, I…'_

"Go talk to him, Hikaru. I'll be here waiting for you." Sai cut in, understandingly. When neither boy moved, Sai pushed Hikaru slightly.

"You have to clear up your misunderstanding, Hikaru. Surely you don't want your friendship with Touya-kun to end like that."

Hikaru nodded sharply before walking over to Akira, a determined glint in his eyes. Grabbing a hold of Akira's hand, Hikaru proceeded to haul Akira to a secluded place.

"Wa-wait, Shindou! What are you doing?" Akira managed to yell out after getting over his surprise.

Hikaru glanced back with a fierce glare. "We need to talk, Touya. Now, come on!"

Though resentful of the treatment, Akira allowed Hikaru to pull him away, silently thankful that he didn't have to make the first move to reconcile with Hikaru. When Hikaru finally found a place he was satisfied with, he turned to face Akira. For a long time both boys glared heatedly at each other before all energy seemed to rush out of them. Slumping against the wall, Hikaru covered his eyes with a free hand.

"…Touya, we really made a mess of things, huh?"

Akira shrugged. "I guess…"

Hikaru opened his eyes and smiled lightly at Akira. "What can I say to make you forgive me?"

Akira's eyes saddened slightly. "There's nothing to forgive, Shindou. I shouldn't have pressed you when it was obvious that you're not willing to talk about it."

"That's true, but I shouldn't have snapped at you either."

"Yeah, well… then again, maybe I deserved it…" replied Akira sadly.

"And both of us should stop trying to take the blame. Let's just leave it with both of us at fault and forget about it." Hikaru said softly, his eyes clouding slightly. "Truce, Touya?"

"Nothing I would want more." Akira replied sincerely after a while, sticking his hand out in good gesture which Hikaru clasped heartily. Even as he agreed to sweep everything under the carpet, a part of his mind was protesting. It refused to be left in ignorance but Akira ruthlessly suppressed it. After all, he knew Hikaru well, and Hikaru could be very stubborn, and he guarded his privacy fiercely. There was nothing he could do unless Hikaru was first willing to give.

"Hey, how about joining me and the others for lunch. You do have to eat, right?" Hikaru asked, already dragging Akira back to the elevators regardless of Akira's answer.

Akira glowered at the back of Hikaru's head, not bothering to grace Hikaru with an answer. Ever since Hikaru found out that he hardly took lunches between games, Hikaru formed a habit of dragging him along for lunch whenever they were in the same vicinity. And then he would practically force-feed Akira. Needless to say, Akira had grown accustomed to McDonald's and ramen.

So intent was Akira in making a hole in Hikaru's head that he failed to notice the two foreigners standing hesitantly in front of the elevators. He did notice Hikaru slowing down before speeding up almost immediately, almost yanking him off-balanced.

"Shindou! Careful, will you? I still want my arm."

Hikaru didn't appear to hear him as he sprinted with Akira in tow towards the elevators. When Akira finally noticed just who had gotten Hikaru's attention, he couldn't help but to feeling resentful.

For standing there in front of the elevators was none other than Ko Yongha and Hong Suyon.

-TBC-


	15. Chapter 15: Tommorow

**Chapter 15: Tomorrow**

Hikaru bit back another sigh as he glanced around the table. Suddenly, his lunch date with Hamano and Waya had turned out to be an impromptu party for six, excluding Sai of course. At least Hamano was enjoying this. Hikaru glanced over to Hamano again. Yes, Hamano was definitely enjoying this… in fact he absolutely relished in watching Akira and Yongha glaring at each other in and listening to their snide and cutting remarks whenever they had to address each other.

One could even say that they were… bickering, for lack of better word, discreetly. Unfortunately, it was plain as day to everyone at the table (except for them perhaps) that these two could hardly stand each other. Suyon, for most part, had kept quiet, shooting bewildered looks at those two once in a while, looks that had turned more exasperated as time wore on, before resigning to his fate and returning his attention to his lunch and to Hamano, who was sitting across of him. Waya, who already had an inkling about the two… enemies, was ignoring them… though the tick on his forehead was beginning to grow bigger and his movements sharpening as the time went by. It may have been a testament against that.

But that was not what was bothering Hikaru. Sometime during their lunch, Suyon had quietly told him about Yongha and his wish to play a game with him. Hikaru grew wearier the more he thought about it. It wasn't that he didn't want to grant Yongha's wish. As it stood, Hikaru would have loved to play a game against Yongha… in fact if Yongha would've asked of this earlier on, he would have agreed without a second thought. But now that he had time to think and brood, he realized that he really wanted their second game to be played in an official match.

And yet when would such an opportunity come again?

Hikaru frowned. They could always wait for the next Hokuto Cup, but it was more than half a year away. From Suyon's heartfelt request, he doubted that Yongha was willing to wait that long.

Hikaru almost let out a growl of frustration. What was so important to Yongha that he wanted a game with him _now_? All those times they had spent together, not once had Yongha voiced his wishes, and yet now he suddenly wanted a game with him?

As a matter of fact, he still couldn't figure out Yongha's manner of interest in him.

"Aren't you thinking a bit too hard, Hikaru?"

Hikaru lips curved into a small smile at Sai's soft rebuke, hearing the concern overlaying the playful tone. Shaking his head minutely, Hikaru closed his eyes.

'_Of course not, Sai. But you have to admit, this is pretty confusing.'_

"Frustrating, you mean."

Hikaru snorted in his mind. _'That too.'_

Sai smiled and tapped his fan to his lips. "Not entirely. Yongha-kun would not be in Japan without a reason in the first place, right?"

'_He did have a reason, Sai. Touya said that Yongha accompanied his sempai here.'_

"True… but Yongha seems to spend more time with us than his sempai, don't you think?"

Hikaru frowned at that statement, realizing how true it was, but before he could answer to Sai, Waya stood up.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get back to the center," Waya said, taking out his wallet. "Unlike some, my game is still unfinished."

"Really?" Hamano asked, turning smiling eyes at Waya. "Well then, we better get going. Hey, Suyon-san, do you still want to tour around at our center?"

Suyon straightened up, eyes bright. "Oh yes… if it's not a bother, that is. I don't want to take more of your time."

"No problem!" Hamano grinned, having already taken a liking to Suyon. "Any friend of Shindou is a friend of mine. Besides, I couldn't leave you in Shindou's oh-so-capable hands. He's not much of a conversationalist and he lacks the finesse of explaining things."

"Ah… so that's what you really think about me, Hamano. And to think I actually thought you liked me," Hikaru said softly, a touch of sadness in his voice. Hamano only grinned happily in response. Hikaru then gave a heavy sigh before turning to Waya and clung onto his arm. "Waya, Hamano befriended me 'cause he pitied me," Hikaru moaned, acting out his pitiful role in perfection.

Waya glared at him. "Don't involve me in this… again. I'm ignoring you, you hear that? Hamano-_san_, stop reducing both of you into children! At least don't do it around me…"

The rest of them laugh as Hikaru maturely stuck his tongue at Waya. Hikaru then turned to Akira.

"Touya, what about you? What were you doing at the center by the way? I know you didn't have a game today."

Akira stilted momentarily, an action only noticed by Yongha and Sai. "Does it matter?"

Hikaru scowled. "I just want to know."

Akira shrugged. "I was just there to find some kifu. And since you dragged me off before I did, of course I'm following you back there."

Hikaru grinned. "Great! Let's all escort Waya back to his game!"

"I do NOT need an escort, you idiot!"

As the party walked back to the center with Hikaru and Waya leading and bickering, occasionally joined by Hamano to add more fuel between them, Sai hung back, traveling between Akira and Yongha. For two who had been at each other's throat since day one, they were pretty comfortable walking together. Though that notion shattered when they begun conversing in quite tones.

"Why were you actually there, Akira-san?"

Akira shot Yongha a sharp look, but Yongha wasn't even looking at him. Wondering if he was hearing things, Akira was about to ignore it when Yongha turned to face him, a hard, questioning glint in his eyes.

"The center… or the ramen restaurant?" Akira countered back, turning away from Yongha.

"The center of course," Yongha answered, a tad sharply. "Even a blind man can see why you were at the restaurant… with you clinging on _Hikaru_."

Akira bristled slightly at the mocking voice. "I'm sure that particular blind man must have been truly blind then, since Shindou was the one holding onto my arm."

"Ah, of course. Forgive my mistake, after all one could hardly assume that the Touya Akira would allow someone else to drag him around, now isn't it?"

Akira gritted his teeth before forcing his jaw relaxed. It wouldn't do to get riled up by Yongha. Problem was, the Korean certainly knew which buttons to push when it came to Akira. Glancing at Yongha with smug, silted eyes, making sure Yongha would catch it before looking away, Akira replied flippantly.

"Call it… a tradition."

Yongha narrowed his eyes at Akira. Unable to help himself, he repeated the word in a suspicious tone.

"Ah yes, tradition," Akira replied easily, belying his inner triumph. "Shindou has this weird obsession with dragging me out for lunch every time we're within vicinity of each other during lunch time."

"One would think you're unwilling to go, judging by your answer."

Akira shrugged lightly. "A good thing you're not judging me then."

Sai snickered at Yongha affronted reaction. Akira one, Yongha zero. Yongha was probably the more sarcastic of the two, but Akira sure could play his devil-may-care card better… in his most polite mannerism as well.

"You still haven't answered me, Akira-san."

Akira stopped walking, prompting Yongha and Sai to stop as well. Turning to face Yongha fully, Akira glared warningly at him.

"What I do and where I go are businesses of my own, Yongha-_san_," Akira finally bit out before pivoting sharply on his heels to follow the group once again.

When Yongha caught up to him, Akira chanced a look at Yongha.

"Careful, Yongha-san. One would think you're jealous," Akira murmured, before walking past everyone to reach Hikaru.

Yongha could only glare angrily at Akira, knowing the boy had the upper hand this round. Unbeknownst to him, Suyon had heard the soft accusation and was watching Yongha contemplatively. Distracted once again by Hamano, Suyon resolved to get to the bottom of this later. Besides, Hikaru's cheerful friend proved to be a very good distraction.

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Later that evening, Hikaru sat in his room in front of his goban with Sai opposite him, playing the game they both revered. The room's atmosphere was quiet, tense even, only broken constantly by the sounds of the stones hitting the wooden board and Sai's quiet instructions.

"I resign," Hikaru said formally, bowing slightly. "Thank you for the game."

"Thank you for the game," Sai replied, equally formal.

Right then, the tense atmosphere broke entirely with Hikaru groaning in frustration. Dropping down onto his back, Hikaru proceed to whine.

"Ah! I can't believe I still lose so miserably to you, Sai."

Sai, who had his paper fan opened halfway through the game, hide a smile behind it. Shaking his head at Hikaru's antics, Sai waited until Hikaru turned to him.

"You're not losing miserably, Hikaru."

"No, of course not. That would explain why I have lost every single time we played. How stupid of me to think so otherwise."

Sai chuckled lightly at Hikaru. "Sarcasm doesn't become you, dear Hikaru."

Hikaru glowered at Sai. Sai ignored him and continued. "Besides, I'm being honest. You're fast reaching my level."

Hikaru sat up slightly, using his elbows to support himself. "Really?"

"Yes, would I lie to you?" Sai shot back, reading the stones on the board shrewdly. "The only difference between the two of us is that I have much longer years of experiences than you. So it's only natural for you to lose to me."

Hikaru dropped back down onto the ground, defeated.

'_Sai…'_

Sai looked up enquiringly at the mental call only to see Hikaru had covered his eyes with his arm. "… Yes?"

'_Shut up.'_

Sai let the smile break through. Laughing silently, Sai replied. "Of course."

Sai turned back to the goban, reviewing the moves again proudly. Hikaru was quickly moving towards his level. They had long since passed the stage of playing Shidou-Go. Hikaru no longer need Sai to tutor him anymore, and they now played on equal ground. Hikaru had gained the confidence he lacked the last time around. Soon, Hikaru would be giving him runs to see who would become victorious.

Sai smiled bemusedly. Thinking of those occurrences-to-be was definitely odd. He couldn't remember the last time he lost in a game of Go. And yet, here he was, mulling over when Hikaru will be strong enough to beat him, and looking forward to that day.

'_Maybe I can reach the Hand of God after all… with Hikaru.'_ Sai mused, sneaking another look at Hikaru before smiling. Trust the boy to fall asleep.

Looking at the boy caused Sai to remember Akira and Yongha. That conversation between them… especially Akira's parting remark… it only made Sai think that both boys were vying for Hikaru's attention.

Sai frowned, tapping his closed fan to his knees. It was like Yongha was challenging Akira of Hikaru. If that was the case, in what manner was Yongha challenging Akira for? The status of rivalry? That could be it, after all it was well-known that Akira and Hikaru were rivals. Two of the strongest pros among the youngest… never mind the fact these two could beat a number of veteran pros.

Sai smiled as he remembered reading a magazine article with Hikaru not too long ago. Akira and Hikaru were both well known for their strength, fearlessness and ruthlessness at their young age, plus the fact that they were never too far from each other… it was no wonder that the press had taken to calling them twin dragons. Their almost legendary game play and cold but courteous manners when dealing with people helped secure the apt nickname. Their infamous status helped too, since Akira was the well-known and revered son of Touya Koyo and Hikaru, the Go prodigy that only started Go at the age of twelve with no master. The fact that they were the rising stars of the Japan's Go world that carried the expectation of many pros was a reason as well.

Those grounds were what finally clinched the media's love for them. Akira apparently had taken all this in gracefully, growing up with his father as the Meijin certainly helped, unfortunately it didn't seem to stand well with Hikaru. Hikaru had scoffed at the article, complaining to Sai about the idiocy of the press.

…

"_Stupid idiots! Printing something like that," Hikaru sneered at the article, scowling at the same time. Sai had to suppress a laugh._

"_Careful, Hikaru. The magazine might catch fire if you stare at it any harder."_

"_But Sai!" Hikaru whined, turning to face the gentle ghost. "Look at this rubbish. You read it didn't you? They weren't even printing out Touya's and my achievements, just plain gossip!"_

"_Yes, because they sell, don't they?"_

"_They have no right to! And what's with calling us twin dragons? Where do they even come up with such ridiculous name?"_

_Sai smiled. "Well, maybe there's a resemblance?"_

_Hikaru glared and replied scathingly. "Oh really? Do I breathe fire? Or maybe create rain? I don't have four clawed-legs now, do I? Of course, I fly every once in a while as well."_

_Sai laughed out loud this time as Hikaru continued to rant at the magazine._

…

"Sai…"

Startled, Sai looked upon Hikaru. Hikaru had shifted his arm above his head and was looking at him blearily. Had Sai been thinking so long? When Sai nodded his head slightly, Hikaru gave Sai a sleepy smile.

"What," Hikaru paused, stifling a yawn before continuing in the same sleepy voice, "are you doing?"

Sai smiled gently, a soft expression on his face. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Oh, you generally… and about Touya-kun and Yongha-kun as well."

"Me huh? I hope those are good thoughts."

Sai laughed then. "Of course they are. Why shouldn't they be?"

Hikaru smiled in response. "So why were Yongha and Touya in your thoughts?"

Sai looked at Hikaru seriously. Catching the look in Sai's eyes, Hikaru sighed softly and sat up, stretching to brush off his sleepiness at the same time. Sai smiled indulgingly, waiting for Hikaru to face him again.

"What is it, Sai?" Hikaru finally enquired, resting his chin on his raised leg, wrapping his arms around it.

"Hikaru…" Sai paused, before changing track. "Hikaru, what do you really think about the interaction between Touya-kun and Yongha-kun?"

Hikaru blinked slowly before shifting to rest his cheek on his knees instead.

"Truthfully? I think their so-called animosity steamed from somewhere… and I'm quite sure it's me. But what I don't understand is why or even how."

Looking up in time to catch Sai's surprised expression, Hikaru laughed softly.

"I'm not as dense as everyone presumes… you should know that. Or maybe I should say I'm no longer as dense as you used to know…?" Hikaru murmured thoughtfully, before shaking his head slightly. "Anyway, as I was saying, I am not blind or stupid. They are vying for my attention… but I'm beginning to wonder what kind of attention they want from me."

"What do you mean?"

"Doesn't it make you wonder, Sai? All the time Yongha spent with us, not once has he asked for a game since our truce. And now, suddenly he wants a game? Right after the argument I had with Touya as well… makes one wonder if he had heard the argument, doesn't it?"

"You mean…"

"I'm not stupid… I know Touya considers himself prominent in my life. His world revolves around Go after all… and I'm the only one who is worthy in his eyes to be his rival. The thing is, I reciprocate those sentiments. I have a feeling that Yongha was fighting with Touya for that spot."

"Even so, it doesn't explain…" Sai trailed off, widening his eyes as realization came upon him. "Oh…"

"Exactly. If Yongha wants that spot, why doesn't he play Go with me? Spending all that time with me and yet not securing a place as a rival? Touya's actions make one think like that, but Yongha's actions don't prove it. So in the end, that explanation is mote, isn't it?"

"I think… I think, Hikaru, that it's not really your Go Yongha-kun is after." Hikaru looked expectantly at Sai, making Sai feel a twinge of regret at his next words. "I think it's you Yongha-kun is after."

Sai would have laughed at Hikaru's comical expression if the discussion was not so serious and tense. As it was, Sai could only bite his lower lips and look down.

"No." Sai looked up at the reply, catching Hikaru's faraway look and frown. "It can't be. If it's _me_ Yongha's after… why is Touya involved?"

Sai shrugged. "Maybe he wants you exclusively and Touya-kun is in his way?"

Hikaru did a great imitation of a gaping fish. "That's… ridiculous!"

"Is it really?" Sai asked, sadness creeping into his voice. "Do you remember, Hikaru? When you said that you are selfish when it comes to me? That could apply to both Touya-kun and Yongha-kun now."

"What do you mean?"

Sai grimaced at the confusion and fear in Hikaru's voice. Sighing, he began to answer Hikaru painstakingly.

"Yongha-kun wants you, for what I'm not entirely sure, but you intrigue him and he wants you and sees Touya-kun as a threat to that. Because right now he sees Touya as your most important person; your rival."

Hikaru shook his head, replying almost roughly and stubbornly. "_You're_ my most important person."

Sai was startled by the reply, and he couldn't help but to feel the pang lessen that he had not known was there. Collecting his thoughts once more, Sai countered Hikaru softly, "But do they know it?"

"Touya… Touya knows."

"And that brings us to the second reason," Sai said sadly before plunging on. "Touya-kun realized… he probably realized this a long time ago; let's just say he confirmed that Sai and even Shuusaku are your most important persons. Realizing that, Touya-kun probably feels he can't lose what little placing in your life he has now."

"And for that he fights with Yongha," Hikaru concluded softly. Several heartbeats later Hikaru began laughing bitterly. "I have no say in this?"

"Probably not… unless you're willing to confront them?"

Hikaru shook his head. "I'd rather be ignorant. Then why do you think that Yongha is asking for a game now?"

"I don't know. Are you going to give him that game?"

"I… I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I haven't truly thought about it. It just seems so… final. Like it's going to be a closure to something, what exactly I'm not sure." Hikaru then sighed heavily. "No use thinking about it now. We'll see how everything goes."

"Closure? Maybe…" Sai hummed, "Or maybe we're just making a mountain out of a molehill. It doesn't matter, does it?"

Gingerly, Hikaru crawled over to Sai, dropping his head onto Sai's lap.

"This still isn't making any sense to me, Sai, matters or not."

Sai ran his fingers through Hikaru's hair soothingly. "I know."

'_I know, for it's not making any sense to me either.'_ Sai thought silently, careful not to send that thought to Hikaru.

After a long silence, Hikaru spoke up, breaking the peace and stilling Sai's soothing fingers running through his hair.

"Computer?" Asked Sai, parroting Hikaru words bewilderedly before his face cleared up. "Oh, you mean the little box where we can play Go?"

Hikaru shifted until he was facing upwards. "Yeah, I thought you'd like it if I buy a computer so you can play Go online. I mean, it can't be that fun playing against Waya and the rest of them. Unfortunately I can't let you play my Dan series games…"

Sai gave Hikaru a heartfelt smile. Trust Hikaru to think about him even when he's having problems of his own. Resuming his earlier task, Sai listened with a soft smile as Hikaru kept rambling out loud about the computer he was going to get.

"So, let's go get that computer tomorrow! Okay, Sai?"

Sai smiled lovingly in agreement, causing Hikaru's eyes to soften in reply.

"Let's play another game, Hikaru. Tomorrow will come soon enough."

Sai watched as Hikaru got up to sit across the goban in silent agreement. Yes, tomorrow would come soon enough. The rest of the things could wait till then.

_**- tbc -**_

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	16. Chapter 16: More Troubles Brewing

**Disclaimer: **The usual saying and what-not… who started this thingy anyway? The word 'fanfiction' is already self-explanatory, isn't it? So if we were to look at it this way, we don't really need disclaimers. No one can really sue anyone, for the word 'fanfiction' already made all claims mote, since fanfiction means fictions that are made by fans. And fans are people who are crazy about works of others…

Er… never mind. Exam stress, forgive my rambling. But I still think disclaimers are useless in 'fanfictions'.

Happiness! Rebecca-chan has been such a sweetheart to beta my new chapter for me. She also edited chapters 14 and 15! And boy, am I glad for people like her. All I have to say is this, I never thought my chapters can be that colourful! Hehe… Thanks to all those who offered to beta for me, and I hoped I offended no one… in anyway. I had not thought that I would have quite that many offers and I was astounded but happy. It shows how many people are actually reading this. Thanks again and enjoy the new chapter(s)!

…'words'… flashback conversation

'words' thoughts

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**Chapter 16: More Troubles Brewing**

"What is going on, Yongha?"

Yongha paused in the midst of drying his hair. Turning to where the voice comes from, he found Suyon sitting on the floor. Yongha hummed and continued drying his hair.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Suyon."

Suyon's eyes narrowed, glaring as Yongha draped the towel across his neck. Yongha had been staying over with Suyon instead of going back to the Touya residence for the last few days. Needless to say, Suyon was glad for the company, he really was. He was also grateful for the fact that they didn't have to arrange for a place to meet up everyday or something, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel that Yongha was using him as a reason to run away.

"Is that so?" Suyon asked, in a tone that prompted Yongha to face him fully. "Then why would Touya claim that you're jealous of him?"

Suyon watched with vindictive pleasure as Yongha's face became ashen before returning to its neutral expression. Immediately, Suyon felt horrible for having such thoughts… but truly, Yongha had tried his patience one too many times.

"You… you heard?"

Suyon almost flinched at Yongha's quiet, defeated-like voice, belying his calm features. Hesitantly, Suyon nodded.

For a long while after that, none of them spoke. Not Suyon, who was waiting for Yongha to give him explanations, or even a single lame excuse, nor Yongha, who was waiting for Suyon's questioning, and maybe even condemnations.

Finally Suyon decided to be his normal blunt self. "What's really going on, Yongha?"

Yongha stared at Suyon for a while, countless emotions warring within his deep eyes, before turning away while replying casually, almost insultingly, "Nothing much."

Gritting his teeth, Suyon stood up in one smooth motion. "Nothing much? Nothing much! Do you really think I'm stupid, Yongha?"

"No… of course not, Suyon. You know I don't think that little of you."

"Then tell me what is going on… what the hell is the matter with you?"

"Like I said, nothing much."

"Bullshit!"

Yongha's jaw clenched at the sharp curse. "Suyon…"

"I don't believe you! Ever since I stepped down from the plane, these few days spent with Shindou and the rest … please, Yongha, tell me. Let me know what is going on."

"What makes you think something is going on?"

Suyon scoffed. "I'm not blind, Yongha. You, normally a very gracious person, were actually needling your host's son and getting riled up by him at the same time. Not once, but almost every single time you two meet up, and the way you looked at each other… besides, if nothing is going on, you would have not say 'nothing much'. You'd just leave it at 'nothing'."

Yongha hummed at the explanation, smiling lightly at Suyon's observations. Sometimes, having someone who knows you inside out are truly a blessing in disguise. And at times, it was a burden.

"As expected of you, Suyon... but trust me, don't get involve in this. Let me deal with it myself."

"Why should I? Why won't you let me help? Am I not your friend?"

"This has nothing to do with friendship. It's just… there's something I want, Suyon. Something that I want so badly… God help me, but I really, really want it."

"… Yongha…" Shocked, Suyon could only stare at the anguish prominent in Yongha's features. Just as sudden, Yongha switched back to his normal haughty self.

"Ah… don't worry, Suyon. It's nothing. Just…" A sudden smirk appeared upon Yongha's face. "Just an obsession…"

Suyon suppressed the impulse to snort in disbelief. _'Nothing, huh? If it is nothing, you wouldn't have looked like the world had fallen apart or something like that.'_

"What kind of obsession?"

Yongha turned his sad, smiling eyes to Suyon. "One that you don't need to know about. It's my desire, and my burden to carry. You really shouldn't get involved, my friend."

Undaunted, Suyon pressed on. "Is it about Touya?"

"Touya? You mean Akira-san?"

"Obviously. After all your animosity is clearly with him."

Yongha smiled ironically. "Ah, yes. It is, isn't it?"

"Well?" Impatience coloured Suyon's words.

"Well what?"

Suyon sighed before repeating his words as though speaking to a small child, "Is it about Touya?"

Yongha's lips twitched at Suyon's tone, laughter threatening to break through. "Of sorts. It's more like Akira-san is a thorn at my side." This time, Yongha really grinned at Suyon's soft grumble of 'obviously' in a sardonic tone. Yongha then raised an eyebrow at the look he was getting from Suyon.

"So… since it's not really about Touya, I assumed that he has what it is that you want?"

For the second time that night, Yongha froze before weariness set in. He should have known, should have guess. Suyon, if nothing else, was very astute. He could easily piece together little bits of information to get the big picture. He really didn't want to involve Suyon in this. Walking wearily towards the window, he stared unseeingly at Tokyo's night lights.

"If I say yes, would you promise to stay out of this?"

Suyon looked at Yongha in contemplation for a while longer before sighing in defeated acceptance.

"I really don't know what is up with you, Yongha, but I can't really do anything if you refuse to even let me in, right? And I suppose you're not going to elaborate more? Well… you know where I am if you ever need me."

Yongha gave Suyon a smile, nodding his head in gratitude. Turning his back to the window again, he tilted his head slightly to gaze at the night sky. Frowning at the lack of stars obscured by the city lights, his thoughts soon returned to Hikaru and the enigma that forever surrounded him. He didn't know why or even how, but he began talking.

"Hey Suyon… did you know that Hikaru claimed Honinbou Shuusaku as his Master?"

Suyon stared at Yongha with surprised eyes, task of getting ready for bed completely forgotten. _'Hikaru? Since when has Yongha started calling Shindou by his given name?'_

Disregarding the silence from the other boy, Yongha continued talking in a distant yet strangled tone.

"'Shuusaku is my Master'… that's what he said to Akira-san. He even admitted that he was angry at me during the Hokuto Cup for I had dishonoured his Master's image. 'Master'… can you believe it? And yet, I can… God Suyon, have you seen his Go lately? Read his kifu?"

By then, Yongha had turned away from the window and was now facing Suyon. Suyon sucked in his breath when he looked up at Yongha's eyes. He didn't remember seeing such painful desperation in those cocky eyes before. And yet, there were admiration and even reverence in them. Somehow, these soulful eyes made Yongha seem more human than he normally did.

'_For Shindou… those emotions are for Shindou,' _Suyon realized suddenly with a jolt. _'Don't tell me… what he wants… Shindou?'_

Unaware of Suyon's shock, Yongha continued, his hands slowly clenching tightly the towel around his neck.

"He plays… plays so much like Shuusaku, his self-acclaimed Master. He even claimed this relationship openly, and yet no one refuted him. In fact, most of them actually acknowledge it, like it's true. Did you know that Touya Koyo-san even bought a book of all of Shuusaku's known kifu for Hikaru?

"So many people, pros even, have tried copying masters of the past, and yet they could never fully play like those legends. But Hikaru, Hikaru plays like he _is_ the reincarnation of Shuusaku himself with all his brilliantness. Maybe not to Shuusaku's level, not yet, but he's slowly reaching there. Watching him play… placing those stones on the goban, the moves, the play, it's nothing but pure, unadulterated beauty."

Suddenly, Yongha burst into a self-mocking laughter. "Listen to me… I sound like a mad person. Delusional even. But you know, Suyon. Hikaru is even stronger now, his Go even further evolved… and he's still growing. Soon, he'll surpass most of us."

"… Yongha…"

"It's so rare for me to find someone who can make me panic in a game, especially one who's younger than me. And now that I've found him, I won't… I _can't_ turn my thoughts away from him."

"Yongha, what—?"

"I want him, Suyon. I want Hikaru. He's going to leave me behind… heck, he'll probably leave Akira-san behind soon. Finally I have found someone whom I want to keep, someone I don't want to let go… but he's growing so fast, too fast. I'm not stupid, I know I have his attention now just because I have beaten him in Go after insulting his _Master's_ image. But it's another story when he wins the next time we play, isn't it?"

Suyon kept silent, not knowing what to say or do with Yongha's confessions. He remembered that he had often joked that Yongha was obsessed with Hikaru, but he had never once thought it to be true.

"Yongha… is that why you never play with Shindou? All these weeks you've spend here, deliberately missing your advancement back home?"

Yongha gave Suyon a forlorn look. "I can't, Suyon. I can't accept it if I were to lose in that game to Hikaru. I will also lose his interest."

"I never thought I'd say this, but Yongha, you are an idiot!"

Shocked, Yongha stared bewilderedly at Suyon. Noticing Suyon's intense glare, Yongha almost took a step backwards.

"Can't you see? Shindou treats you as a friend. A friend, do you hear me? Even if you lose to him, you're still his friend. Regardless of what you have _not _accomplished here, you _have_ managed to gain his friendship."

"… Friendship?"

Suyon could only stare at Yongha, shaking his head in amazement. "You really are an idiot." After a short pause, Suyon opened his mouth again, asking hesitantly. "Yongha… when you said you want Shindou, what do you mean?"

Seeing Yongha's perplexed frown, Suyon decided to elaborate. "I mean, why do you want Shindou? It's not… it's not as simple as wanting him as a rival, isn't it?"

Suyon didn't know how long he held his breath, waiting for an answer from his lost-looking friend, wondering if he would ever get one. When Yongha finally spoke up, albeit quietly, Suyon let out the breath he was holding, in relief or not he couldn't tell.

"I-I don't know, to tell you the truth. Would you believe me if I said I had actually wanted him as a rival in the beginning? That I was willing to fight Akira-san for his place in Hikaru's life?"

Smiling suddenly, Yongha leaned against the window sill. "As I got to know him better, the more… intrigued, I suppose, I was with him. He has something in him that others don't."

"Yeah," Suyon agreed softly, reminded of the time when Hikaru had challenged him to a game of Go. "Shindou's someone special."

Yongha let out a dark chuckle. "Look at me. I was so adamant that I shouldn't involve you in my crazy affairs and then I go ahead and tell you everything. Suyon," Yongha looked up, staring helplessly at his friend, "I'm at a loss. We'll be leaving Japan soon. I don't quite remember the reason why I came to Japan in the first place anymore."

Suyon could do nothing but watch his friend lean miserably against the window. He couldn't even begin to imagine the turmoil Yongha was going through. Of course, he understood the longing for a rival, someone he could pit himself against to further improve himself. But Yongha… It seemed that Yongha wanted that, and more.

Yongha had never felt the need or a longing for a rival before, and now Hikaru was plaguing him with all these new feelings, it was no wonder that Yongha was practically breaking down. As much as he wanted to help his friend, Suyon knew that this was one battle Yongha would have to fight alone.

He wanted to help, God knows how much he wanted to help, but he understood that there were certain things that one must fight for himself. And this was one of them.

"Thank you, Yongha, for telling me. And I give you my word that I won't involve myself." Suyon smiled slightly at Yongha when he looked over.

"It's late. Things will look better in the morning… at least that's what my mum always tells me. You can inform me tomorrow if that works."

Yongha started laughing. Not the dark or hysterical laughter he had been giving the whole night, but a soft, sincere laugh. Shaking his head humorously, he walked to the makeshift bed that was his.

"All right, I'll tell you in the morning if it works. Good night and sleep well, Suyon."

"Nites, Yongha."

"And Suyon? … Thank you."

Suyon didn't reply or react at the softly whispered gratitude, but Yongha was sure that Suyon heard it all the same.

Yes, having a friend like Suyon was truly a wonderful thing.

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Hikaru smiled secretively as he walked pass another group of Go enthusiasts talking about the 'reappearance' of the legendary net Go player, Sai, while Sai himself was trailing behind Hikaru bewilderedly. After all it was only yesterday that Sai 'reappeared'.

'_Hey Sai, looks like you're hot news now.'_

Sai blushed. He knew he was very well known net Go player, but to think that he was this famous was quite astounding. After all, all he wanted was to play Go without causing Hikaru trouble.

"I never knew…"

'_Believe it, Sai. Many people in Japan, and all over the world alike, mourned when you were... when you stopped appearing online.'_

Hearing the slight pause, Sai looked over at Hikaru and saw that the young pro was looking straight ahead stubbornly. Sai sighed mentally. His leaving was still a depressing subject for Hikaru and he would go all out just to avoid mentioning it. Sai knew that deep down Hikaru was still afraid that he would just suddenly leave again, despites Sai's assurances.

"How long do you think it will take before Touya-sensei and Ogata-sensei hears about your reappearance?"

Sai's expression turned serious. "I hope soon. I really would like to play against Touya-Meijin again."

"I know… by the way, Touya-sensei is no longer the Meijin. He retired after losing to you, remember?"

"I remember. It's just… well, he's worthy of that title, even though he has retired. Besides," Sai smiled. "He'll always be Touya-Meijin, retired or not."

"Yes, if you look at it that way. It's just such a shame that he retired, though Touya is happy about it. He said that his father is much more relaxed nowadays and in turn it made his mother happy."

Before Sai could reply, he heard someone calling Hikaru. Turning around Sai saw Waya trying to reach Hikaru without running or bumping into anyone and Kariudo trailing behind.

"Hikaru, Waya-kun and Hamano-kun are here."

Hikaru turned around upon hearing Sai's statement and waved at his approaching friends, indicating that he would wait for them.

"Yo, Shindou! You're a hard person to find," Waya complained good-naturedly.

"Oh, you know, I'm always here and there. It's depends on your luck if you can find me or not," countered Hikaru with a grin, causing Waya to roll his eyes.

"Shindou-kun! Morning!" Kariudo all but yelled out of cheerfulness.

"Morning, Hamano," Hikaru replied Kariudo while Sai echoed the greetings beside him. Waya winced at the hyper Kariudo. It was hard to imagine at times that this guy was older than them by years.

"Hamano and I were stuck with tutoring. Thank God we were seated next to each other. So, where's Yongha? I would have thought he and Suyon would tag along for this event… Never mind about that. Have you heard? Sai, the legendary net Go Sai is back online!"

Hikaru hid a smile at Waya's enthusiasm. "Yongha decided to do more sight-seeing with Suyon, and we're meeting up for dinner and yes, of course I have heard about that."

"Yeah, me too… though I have never seen his games before. I heard that he's an amazing player."

"Well, of course! He did win against Touya-sensei in a serious net Go game before," Waya replied in his what-planet-are-you-from tone. "I wish I could play against him at least once," Waya then said wistfully.

Hikaru shrugged while Kariudo ignored him. Apparently the reappearance of Sai had cause Waya to have a single-track mind for now. "He's very strong, Waya."

"I know. That's why I want to play against him. Not only is he a strong player but he's a damn brilliant strategist!" Waya frowned, looking over at his friend. "But you know, your Go and Sai's Go, they're almost similar."

"What? Another Shuusaku?" Kariudo exclaimed in shock to which Waya nodded absently.

Hikaru smiled brilliantly. "Is that so? I thank you for the compliment, Waya."

"It's not a compliment!" Waya grounded out. "Geez, do you enjoy getting me all rile up or something? If I didn't know better, I would have accused you of being Sai himself!"

Hikaru smiled wryly. Waya's wild accusations were hitting a bit too close for a comfort.

"So, what else have you planned for today?" Hikaru asked, changing the topic.

"Just one more tutorial session. Since I'm a net Go fanatic, Morishita-sensei signed me up for it… without my consent, mind you. And Hamano, the lucky guy, is free… I bet you are too."

Hikaru and Kariudo laughed. "My sympathies to you. I'm glad that none of the higher pros have such authority on me."

Waya shot both his companions a sour look. "Don't rub it in, idiot. I really don't understand you. Many would have jumped at the chance of being the student of any of the higher pros, but, no, not you."

Hikaru smiled serenely at Waya. They've had this conversation one too many times for Hikaru to react to it anymore. Even Kariudo was shaking his head. They may not have known each other long, but Kariudo had been accepted into their group easily. He could easily tell you that this was one of the old arguments in the house.

"You know why, Waya."

Waya glared. "I just don't understand you."

At that response, Hikaru smiled while keeping his eyes closed slightly, hiding the emotions in. He no longer remembered when he learnt such trick, but at least his friends wouldn't question him when they couldn't see his emotions. "I don't expect you to, Waya. I already have one Master… and I… My loyalties lie there. Surely you don't expect me to betray my Master?"

Waya huffed. He understood the point of being loyal to one's Master, but Hikaru had never mentioned any other Master than Shuusaku… and Shuusaku happened to be one very, _very_ dead guy. But before Waya could begin berating the other boy, Kariudo pointed out the sight of Ogata walking straight towards them. Waya sighed deeply in his mind.

"Shindou…" Ogata greeted once he was within hearing distance, staring intently at Hikaru before glancing over at the boy's companions, "Hamano… 3-Dan and Waya 2-Dan, correct?"

"Yes, Ogata-sensei. How are you?" Waya asked politely, bowing slightly more out of habit than showing respect, while Kariudo repeated the sentiment more sincerely.

Hikaru on the other hand, was just watching Ogata with a sharp glint in his eyes and a small smirk playing about the corner of his lips. _'Sai, I believe Ogata-sensei is here for you.'_

Sai stared at Hikaru before shaking his head in bemusement. What happened to the boy who used to freak out whenever Ogata came by?

Not waiting for a reply from the beloved ghost, Hikaru smiled at Ogata and bowed gracefully. "Ogata-sensei, how nice to see you."

Ogata waved the pleasantries away, narrowing his eyes on Hikaru's distinctly amused disposition. "Shindou… I would like to talk to you for a minute."

That said Ogata turned away, fully expecting Hikaru to follow. Hikaru smiled slightly at the older man's antics before shaking his head. Kariudo was frowning, he hadn't known of the interest that Ogata held for Hikaru and was puzzled by Ogata's appearance. Waya on the other hand was scowling at the retreating back. He never did like the curt and arrogant man. Sure, Ogata-sensei is a great Go player, but his attitude was much too cold for Waya.

"Sorry, Waya, Hamano. Apparently I have to go." Hikaru shrugged. "Maybe we'll see each other later or something, if either of us is still around."

"What? But Shindou, I wanted to hang out with you." Kariudo pouted.

"Er… Well, Ogata-sensei never did say I can't bring someone along. So you coming along too, Waya?"

Waya shook his head. "I need to prepare for my net Go session soon anyway."

"Okay then, see you around. Let's go Hamano."

Waya wordlessly nodded his farewell, watching as Hikaru sprinted after the older pro with Kariudo following behind. A frown slowly made its way onto his face. Even after befriending Hikaru for over three years, he still didn't understand why the higher ranked pros, title-holders and many more were so interested in Hikaru, most especially Touya-sensei, Kuwabara-sensei, Kurata-san and not to forget, Ogata-sensei.

'_None of the pros has any authority on you… and yet all of them are watching you. Why are they all so interested in you, Shindou?' _

TBC

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My editor asked me why was Yongha being suddenly polite and calling Akira, Akira-san. To clear this up for her as well as others who may be asking the same thing, Yongha has always been polite. Even when taunting Akira, Yongha always call him with the suffix. A barrier of sorts, I trying to give, after all Yongha only call Touya Akira by his given name so that Yongha can differentiate between him and Touya Koyo.

Yes, Hikaru is playing netGo for Sai, but I probably will not be writing any scenes on it. Note this though, Hikaru went and bought a computer and fixed up a line so that Sai can play online without them needing to go to a cyber café.

And now for some bad news… I'm starting my industrial training in a week. I'm not sure when I'll find time to write new chapters, or even go online. Final year student blues… whoever said that final years are honeymoon years seriously need to check their head or get their priorities straight; I have never been so busy! Sob Sob… I even forgot about dinner dates with my friends thanks to all those workloads. Man, I have never been chewed so thoroughly for such a long time. No promises, I sucks at them, but hopefully I'll get a new chapter done… soon.

I hope…


End file.
